Aussie doubles duo Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell have booked their spot in the men’s doubles final at the Australian Open, after doing away with the No.2 seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 6-3 7-6 (11-9).
Ebden and Purcell blasted out of the blocks to take the first set 6-3.
The unseeded pair then looked poised to finish out the match promptly in the second set, securing a break in the ninth game, however their opponents wrapped up their service game to force things to a tiebreak.
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Appearing down and out for the majority of the match, Ram and Salisbury surged in the tiebreak to earn four set points. But, Ebden and Purcell survived, producing two match points of their own before progressing to the final.
Speaking court-side, the pair were relieved to not have repeated their previous encounter with Ram and Salisbury at last year’s US Open, drawing on the power of playing at their home slam.
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“They beat us just three, four months ago in the quarter-finals of the US Open 7-6 in the third [set] and we had four match points. So, I didn’t sleep very well the next couple of weeks after that,” Ebden said.
“I’m just glad we got an advantage and we thought, it’s our home slam, it’s our court, we’re Australian’s and the crowd made a difference yesterday and today.”
This will be the second time Purcell has played in the men’s doubles final after competing alongside Luke Saville in 2020. Now combining with Ebden, a unique matchup of youth and experience has prevailed.
“To go through to the final here is a dream, of course, our home grand slam, we want to be playing grand slam finals and winning as many grand slams as we can,” Ebden said.
“We know what it takes, Max has been in the final, I’ve been in other finals, we have both played a lot of big matches.
“It is a bit the same, of course, it’s also extra special being a grand slam final – they don’t come around that often – so they’re there for the taking, you’ve got to play well, you’ve got to play big tennis, [a] big match.
“Whoever we play (in the final) is going to be playing well.”
The men’s doubles final will be an all-Aussie affair with Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis winning through their semi-final match to set up an epic clash on Saturday afternoon.
“There are a couple of other Aussies who are playing on Rod Laver Arena, I’m not sure if you’re aware,” interviewer Brett Phillips teased in regards to Kyrgios and Kokkinakis’ antics on-court.
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