Australian Open: Matthew Ebden reaches men’s doubles final as Storm Hunter knocked out

At 43 and 36, an Indian veteran and his Aussie partner have surged into the men’s doubles final, but the dream is over for Storm Hunter.

Australian Matthew Ebden and world No. 1 doubles partner Rohan Bopanna are through to the men’s doubles final at Melbourne Park. Picture: Mark Brake / Getty Images

An Aussie will play in the Australian Open men’s doubles final for the third year in a row after Matthew Ebden and world No. 1 partner Rohan Bopanna won a thrilling semi-final clash on Thursday.

But Storm Hunter’s quest for a maiden grand slam title will go on after the top-ranked women’s doubles player was knocked out by her former partner in the semi-finals.

Hunter reached No. 1 playing alongside Belgium’s Elise Mertens in a stellar 2023 which included a run to the Wimbledon final, but the pair decided to part ways at the end of the year.

The Australian left-hander joined forces with Czechia’s Katerina Siniakova, but the pair endured teething issues in their first tournament together and were made to pay for coughing up a 4-0 first-set lead to Mertens and Taiwanese 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei.

Su-Wei Hsieh and @elise_mertens will serve for a place in the Women's Doubles final!

They lead Hunter and Siniakova 7-5 1-6 5-3#AusOpen • #AO2024pic.twitter.com/eKHE46OHlJ

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2024

They bowed out in a 5-7, 6-1, 3-6 defeat as Siniakova screamed out and smashed her racquet in the final game following some deft play at the net by Hsieh.

Hunter is set to give up the No. 1 mantle to Mertens, who will vie for her fourth grand slam title in the final on Saturday night.

Ebden and Bopanna booked a spot in the final and secured a payday of at least $400,000 as they won in a 10-point match tie-break over unseeded duo Tomas Machac and Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7).

For Ebden, 36, it will be an opportunity for redemption and a first men’s doubles home grand slam title after he reached the final with Max Purcell but lost to Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis in the famous 2022 match.

His 43-year-old partner Bopanna, who reached No. 1 in the world for the first time of his career to set an ATP tour record following their quarter-final win on Wednesday, showed precisely how he got to the milestone with a clinical display in the match tie-break.

Persistence pays off 💪@rohanbopanna reaches his first #AusOpen men's doubles final in his 17th attempt! pic.twitter.com/lSZtqgpNHE

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2024

The Indian veteran delivered several booming serves and read a big crosscourt forehand from Zhang perfectly to pounce at the net with a reflex volley which helped the duo preserve a two-point lead.

Ebden was also strong at the net, particularly in the first set as the pair raced away with an early break.

The duo made the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2023 after joining forces earlier in the year, winning the title at Indian Wells in March.

After he ended his Wimbledon-winning partnership with Max Purcell, Ebden said him and Bopanna had joined forces more out of necessity than any careful planning.

“Realistically you need someone ranked sort of top 30 and we were both in that range. We were both left looking for partners – everyone else is mostly always paired up, everyone sort of has their partners,” Ebden said after the quarter-final.

“We were both looking and it worked well. He plays on the deuce; I play on the ad. We’ve known each other for a long time. We thought our games could complement each other well.

“When we set out to achieve everything and go for the top and the best, credit to both of us for all our hard work.

“Especially Bops, being his age, I don’t know how many years older than me … the amount of tournaments and travel and work that we do, day in, day out – to reach the summit now at this point in our careers and lives, it’s incredible.”

Ebden and Bopanna will meet either Italian pair Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli or Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann and Dominik Koepfer in Saturday’s final.

The latter duo entered the tournament unseeded and upset defending champions Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler in the second round.