Paris: Australia’s Matthew Ebden and John Peers pulled off a stirring comeback and fended off some tension in Match Tie-break to win the men’s doubles title in the 33rd Olympic Games here on Saturday. Ebden, who won the Australian Open men’s doubles title with India’s Rohan Bopanna earlier this year, and Peers were unseeded in this event and went all the way to the title.
The Australian pair defeated Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-7(6), 7-6(1), 10-8 in the gold medal match.
After recovering from a set and a break down, Ebden and Peers produced some of their best tennis of the teams’ maiden head-to-head encounter with Krajicek and Ram to clinch victory and spark joyous celebrations on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Neither team had dropped a set en route to the final and the fourth-seeded Krajicek and Ram were on track to complete a perfect week in the French capital when they led by a set and a break.
Yet just as they had in the opening set, Ebden and Peers rallied from 2-4 to force a tie-break in the second. This time they won it, and they then produced a masterful Match Tie-break display.
The Australians charged into a 9/5 lead in the decider, but they were made to sweat as Krajicek and Ram saved the first three of their opponents’ four gold-medal points. Ebden and Peers kept their cool to convert the fourth, however, and claim the gold medal in just their fifth event as a team.
With their two-hour, four-minute triumph, the two 36-year-olds won Australia’s second gold medal in Olympic Tennis Event history.
The No. 3 and No. 59 in the ATP Doubles Rankings, respectively, Ebden and Peers join ATP Tour greats Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, who triumphed at Atlanta 1996, as Australian Olympic tennis champions.
–IANS
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