“It only comes around once every four years and even just to play it is ridiculous. To win a gold medal, I think it’s like folklore. It’s beyond me.”

“It’s trippy. It’s more than a dream,” said Ebden, who has lifted doubles trophies at Wimbledon (with Max Purcell in 2022) and the Australian Open (with India’s Rohan Bopanna in 2024) and claimed gold on his Olympic debut in Paris.

“I didn’t even dream of winning a gold medal growing up or whatever, but obviously the last few years [I’ve] had great success on the doubles court and [that] give me a lot of belief and confidence.”

And to do it with Peers, a Melburnian buddy who now lives a street away from him in Perth, with their wives and children having become the best of friends too, it was all extra special.

“Some miracle work has happened and somehow we’ve now got a gold medal for our streets,” beamed Ebden.

Peers, also a two-time Grand Slam champion after winning Australian Open 2017 with Henri Kontinen and US Open 2022 mixed doubles title with Storm Sanders, added to an Olympics career that saw him claim bronze in mixed doubles alongside Ash Barty at Tokyo 2020.

“To win a gold medal … I think it’s like folklore,” said Peers, who was also a part of Australia’s Olympic tennis team at Rio in 2016.

“For me to be able to do that and say that we’re gold medallists, I mean, doing it for the green and gold in Australia and the people back home, that’s what we play the sport for.”

A hard-earned one, too. The huge sign on Chatrier says “Victory belongs to the most tenacious” and that was definitely the case here as the Aussie duo clawed back from a set and 4-2 down, when all seemed lost with the American Davis Cup pair beginning to dominate.

But the Australians, who’d played a few tournaments together and reached a couple of finals, just wouldn’t lie down, with Ebden relighting their fire, playing a brilliant game in the second set to help break Ram for 4-4 before exhorting the crowd, including plenty of compatriots, to get behind them.

Down to a second tiebreak, Perth’s Ebden and Melbourne’s Peers began to play their best tennis to drop just one point and take the match into a super tiebreak finale, with the gold for the first to 10 points.

It looked plain sailing when Peers and Ebden raced into an 8-3 lead, including one astonishing piece of retrieving from the back of the court by a scrambling Peers that enabled them to prevail in a seemingly unwinnable point.

But nerves kicked in as the Americans hit back and saved three match points. Ebden agonisingly missed the easiest volley of all at 9-7.

With Ellie, one of his two little daughters in the stand crossing her fingers for dad, Peers then dug his mate out of a potential hole by putting away the winning smash at 9-8 before the two old pals jumped into each other’s arms.

Peers wanted the moment to inspire his biggest fans. “I hope it can make them dream big and know the sky’s the limit, that they can do anything they want to put their minds to,” said one proud dad.

Ebden and Peers were equally thrilled to add to the broader team spirit in Paris, where Australia has claimed at least one gold medal on each day so far of the 2024 Games.

“Everyone’s always watching each other, always supporting each other. Someone comes back to the village with a medal, everyone’s there cheering as soon as they’re there,” said Peers.

“It’s a really tight-knit group and I know Australia’s had an unbelievable history in the Olympics and in sport as a whole. We’re a proud sporting nation.”

Having absorbed their own Olympic spirit while watching other Australians compete throughout their respective childhoods, Ebden and Peers are especially proud to have set such a successful example to their families.

As Peers noted of the biggest lesson he hoped that seven-year-old Ellie would take away from her courtside experience: “Dream big and just know anything’s possible when you put your mind to it.”

Amid the joyful celebrations that accompanied Matt Ebden and John Peers’ proudest career moments at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, attention for the Australian men quickly turned to their families.

Ebden’s wife, Kim, and two-year-old son, Harvey, were courtside as the pair proudly added to Australia’s gold-medal tally in Paris. Peers was supported by his wife Danielle and daughters Ellie and Harper.

“They’re going to be talking about this until we’re 100,” Peers smiled.

And what a story they’ll have from that special day at Roland Garros.

PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 03: Gold medallists Matthew Ebden and John Peers of Team Australia (C), Silver medallists Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram of Team United States (L), and Bronze medallists of Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul of Team United States (R) pose on the podium during the Tennis Men’s Doubles medal ceremony after the Tennis Men’s Doubles matches on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Roland Garros on August 03, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)