Matt Ebden and John Friends are the final Australians standing at Roland Garros after defeating German pair Dominik Koepfer and Jan-Lennard Struff within the males’s doubles quarterfinals.
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The pair has a day without work on Thursday and can return on Friday to compete within the semifinals the place they may meet American third seeds Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul or British duo Andy Murray and Daniel Evans.
“It’s one other good step, one other stepping stone. We made no secret of our purpose, we need to win,” Ebden mentioned. “That’s why we’re right here. It’s one other step in the proper route.”
Alexei Popyrin’s marketing campaign got here to an finish within the third spherical after the Australian fell to reigning Olympic champion, third-seeded German Alexander Zverev.
Popyrin was up a break within the first set earlier than the momentum shifted and Zverev prevailed 7-5 6-3 on Courtroom Suzanne-Lenglen.
“I’m upset. I felt like if I received that first set it may have been anybody’s match,” Popyrin mentioned. “I felt like I used to be taking part in fairly nicely up till that time. I used to be dictating, I used to be doing every part we got down to do with Lleyton.
“My serve might be my largest weapon, and it gave approach in an important moments.”
> READ: Popyrin stops triple main champion to succeed in Olympics third spherical
Popyrin mentioned his Olympic expertise in Paris had been a profession spotlight.
“Representing the inexperienced and gold, that’s all the time been a dream of mine. To symbolize my nation on the Olympics, Davis Cup and symbolize my nation on the whole.
“To have the ability to do it, to have the ability to win just a few matches and make it to the third spherical of the Olympics, to take among the best gamers on the earth to the place he has to play some actually good tennis to beat me, I can take positives from that.”
The 24-year-old’s end in Paris was the very best end result for an Aussie man in singles since London 2012 when Lleyton Hewitt reached the Olympics third spherical.
> READ: Ebden all smiles after Olympic debut
Within the blended doubles quarterfinals, China’s Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu saved two match factors to defeat Ellen Perez and Ebden in a three-set thriller, 6-7(8) 7-6(8) [10-5].
“Positively a heartbreaker,” Perez mentioned. “I believe we did a variety of issues proper, we put ourselves in positions to win. One level away. That’s tennis.
“It was a enjoyable match, a very good match. I believe there have been instances every of us performed unbelievable factors, nevertheless it was an actual disgrace to not get the win.”
PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES RESULTS
Males’s singles, third spherical
[3] Alexander Zverev (GER) d Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 7-5 6-3
Males’s doubles, quarterfinals
Matt Ebden / John Friends (AUS) d Dominik Koepfer / Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) 7-6(2) 7-6(4)
Combined doubles, quarterfinals
Zhizhen Zhang / Xinyu Wang (CHN) d [2] Ellen Perez / Matt Ebden (AUS) 6-7(8) 7-6(8) [10-5]
