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Australia’s Matt Ebden is celebrating his 11th ATP doubles triumph after teaming with Rohan Bopanna to lift the trophy in Miami.
Miami, USA , 31 March 2024 | Vivienne Christie
Matt Ebden is celebrating another big win, after lifting the Miami Open doubles title alongside his Indian partner, Rohan Bopanna.
The top-seeded pair showed composure under pressure to claim a comeback win over No.2 seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the championship match.
Ebden and Bopanna required one hour and 42 minutes to record their 6-7(3) 6-3 [10-8] triumph over the Croatian-American pair.
It is a second ATP Masters 1000-level title for the top-seeded duo, who were also crowned Australian Open 2024 champions in January.
Your 2024 #MiamiOpen Men’s Doubles Champions! 💥@rohanbopanna | @mattebden | @atptour | @itau pic.twitter.com/2MzGA81DvJ
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 30, 2024
Ebden and Bopanna quickly gelled after teaming at the start of the 2023 season, claiming a breakthrough win at Doha in February before their maiden ATP Masters 1000 victory at Indian Wells.
Their match-winning record in an impressive start to season 2024 stands at 14-3.
The experienced pair was made to work hard against Dodig and Krajicek, who edged ahead in the first-set tiebreak.
“It’s tough. These guys are known to fight back in tough moments. Last time we played them it was similar,” said Ebden of the come-from-behind win.
“We missed one or two shots when we were up there to finish the first set and then they played a great tiebreak and then we just reset.
“We just tried a little bit different method. We just relaxed and let ourselves play. (We thought we’d) just see what happens and it turned out well.”
Ebden and Bopanna opened their Miami 2024 campaign with a three-set win over Italian pair Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, before victory over Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski .
They required three-sets to overcome Australia’s JP Smith and Frenchman Sem Verbeek in the quarterfinals, ahead of a comprehensive semifinal victory over Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the semifinals.
“Just sticking through adversity,” said Ebden, when asked what provided the pair with the most pride from their second ATP Masters 1000 win.
“The first three matches we were neck and neck, just scraping through and then that gave us a chance in the semis (when) we played unbelievable, both of us actually.
“And then today again, a tight match … you’ve just got to execute, play well under pressure in the big moments, and we’ve been doing that pretty well.”
At age 44, Bopanna surpassed his own record – set at Indian Wells last year – as the oldest ATP Masters 1000 champion in history.
He also returns to world No.1 in the men’s doubles ranking; Ebden, who peaked as doubles No.1 last month, will move one spot to world No.2.
RESULTS
Men’s doubles, final
[1] Matt Ebden (AUS)/Rohan Bopanna (IND) d [2] Ivan Dodig (CRO)/Austin Krajicek (USA) 6-7(3) 6-3 [10-8]
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