World number three Matt Ebden and John Peers are through to the men’s doubles semifinals after defeating Germany’s Dominik Koepfer and Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(2) 7-6(4) at Roland Garros today.
The Aussie pair are in contention for an Olympic tennis medal.
“For us to put our best foot forward for the first couple of matches is fantastic. We’re enjoying being here and thriving in the moment. We’re ready to keep going,” Peers said after the match.
“They played super well. Dom is seeing the ball like a watermelon. He was zoning, swinging from the hip left, right and centre.
“Struffy is one of the best doubles players in the world, he plays huge. We edged ahead each set, and they kept clawing back but we toughed it out. We played well in the big moments and it’s another quality win,” Ebden added.
The pair will have a day off and will return to compete in the semifinals. They play the winner of American number three seeds Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul and British duo Andy Murray and Daniel Evans.
“We’re here to try and win gold, that’s what we have come here for,” Peers said.
“It’s another good step, another stepping stone. We made no secret of our goal, we want to win. That’s why we are here. It’s another step in the right direction,” Ebden continued.
This evening, number three seed Alexander Zverev (GER) defeated Alexei Popyrin in the men’s singles third round on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, 7-5 6-3.
Popyrin was up a break in the first set before the momentum changed.
“I’m disappointed. I felt like if I got that first set it could have been anyone’s match. I felt like I was playing quite well up until that point. I was dictating, I was doing everything we set out to do with Lleyton,” Popyrin said.
“My serve is probably my biggest weapon and it gave way in the most important moments.”
Popyrin said his Olympic experience in Paris has been a career highlight.
“Representing the green and gold, that’s always been a dream of mine. To represent my country at the Olympics, Davis Cup and represent my country in general,” Popyrin said.
“To be able to do it, to be able to win a few matches and make it to the third round of the Olympics, to take one of the best players in the world to where he has to play some really good tennis to beat me, I can take positives from that.”
The 24-year-old’s result in Paris was the best result for an Aussie male in singles since London 2012 when Lleyton Hewitt reached the Olympics third round.
In the mixed doubles quarterfinals, China’s Zhizhen Zhang and Xinyu Wang defeated Ellen Perez and Matt Ebden in a three-set thriller, 6-7(8) 7-6(8) [10-5].
“Definitely a heartbreaker. I think we did a lot of things right, we put ourselves in positions to win. One point away. That’s tennis,” Perez said.
“It was a fun match, a really good match. I think there were times each of us played incredible points, but it was a real shame to not get the win.”
