1 August 2024 | Tennis West

Matt Ebden and John Peers are the last Australians standing at Roland Garros after defeating German pair Dominik Koepfer and Jan-Lennard Struff in the men’s doubles quarterfinals.

World No.3 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 on Wednesday.

The unseeded Aussie pair is now one win from an Olympic tennis medal.

“For us to put our best foot forward for the first couple of matches is fantastic,” Peers said. “We’re enjoying being here and thriving in the moment. We’re ready to keep going.”

Ebden said the while the Germans kept clawing back, they toughed it out and played the big moments better.

“They played super well. Dom is seeing the ball like a watermelon. He was zoning, swinging from the hip, left, right and centre,” he said. “And Struffy is one of the best doubles players in the world, he plays huge.”

The pair has a day off on Thursday and will return on Friday to compete in the semifinals where they will meet American third seeds Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul or British duo Andy Murray and Daniel Evans.

“It’s another good step, another stepping stone. We made no secret of our goal, we want to win,” Ebden said. “That’s why we are here. It’s another step in the right direction.”

Alexei Popyrin’s campaign came to an end in the third round after the Australian fell to reigning Olympic champion, third-seeded German Alexander Zverev.

Popyrin was up a break in the first set before the momentum shifted and Zverev prevailed 7-5 6-3 on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

“I’m disappointed. I felt like if I got that first set it could have been anyone’s match,” Popyrin said. “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.

“My serve is probably my biggest weapon, and it gave way in the most important moments.”

> READ: Popyrin stops triple major champion to reach Olympics third round

Popyrin said his Olympic experience in Paris had 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.

“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 man in singles since London 2012 when Lleyton Hewitt reached the Olympics third round.

> READ: Ebden all smiles after Olympic debut

In the mixed doubles quarterfinals, China’s Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu saved two match points to defeat Ellen Perez and Ebden in a three-set thriller, 6-7(8) 7-6(8) [10-5].

“Definitely a heartbreaker,” Perez said. “I think we did a lot of things right, we put ourselves in positions to win. One point away. That’s tennis.

“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.”

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES RESULTS

Men’s singles, third round
[3] Alexander Zverev (GER) d Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 7-5 6-3

Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
Matt Ebden / John Peers (AUS) d Dominik Koepfer / Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) 7-6(2) 7-6(4)

Mixed doubles, quarterfinals
Zhizhen Zhang / Xinyu Wang (CHN) d [2] Ellen Perez / Matt Ebden (AUS) 6-7(8) 7-6(8) [10-5]