Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna and Australia’s Matthew Ebden made a rollicking start to their Vienna Open campaign as they reached the quarterfinals of the Vienna Open at the Glaubandich Court on Tuesday.
The Indo-Australian pair beat Dutch player Robin Haase and German star Alexander Zverev 2-6, 7-5, 10-5 in the Round of 16.
Bopanna and Ebden made a stunning comeback against Haase and Zverev after losing the opening set. They drew level in the second set, and in the third set, they held their nerves and bested the Dutch-German pair.
After marching into the quarterfinals, Bopanna said, “We started slow. We were lucky to get that break in the 2nd set. We used the momentum in the super tiebreak. When it goes to the super tiebreak, it goes so quick. But having played together for such a long time helped us.”
Bopanna and Ebden won 69 per cent of first serve compared to 68 by Haase and Zverev. In the second serve as well, Bopanna and Ebden stayed ahead. Altogether, Bopanna and Ebden won 64 points compared to 59 by Haase and Zverev.
Bopanna and Ebden will face the pair of United Kingdom’s Neal Skupski and New Zealand’s Michael Venus in the quarterfinals on Thursday.