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India take on England in the first test in Hyderabad, while Rohan Bopanna continues his Australian Open heroics with Super Cup action as well today.
Here are the key updates from January 25, Thursday:
Bopanna-Ebden into Australian Open final
Soon-to-be world No 1 Rohan Bopanna and Matt Ebden’s terrific run as a pair continued as they reached the men’s doubles final at the Australian Open.
They sailed through a dramatic final phase of the semifinal to beat the Czech-Chinese pair of Tomas Machac and Zhizhen Zhang 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7) in 2 hours and 2 minutes.
This only the third men’s doubles Grand Slam final for 43-year-old Bopanna and the second straight for them as a pair after the US Open last year. It gives the Indian a chance to win his first ever men’s double title and fulfil another dream after achieving the world No 1 for the first time after his quarterfinal win yesterday.
Rohan Bopanna, world no. 1 at 43, inspires beyond tennis
The semifinal on Rod Laver Arena was a see-saw affair, with the Indo-Australian second seeds showing all showcasing all the doubles experiences to take the first game in 32 minutes with one early break, solid serve stats and barely any unforced errors.
The second saw Machac and Zhang regroup and find their range together and power on their strokes, breaking Ebden’s serve once to force a decider. The roof closed at 1-1 second game and the complexion of the match changed.
The third set saw the second seeds take charge of the match again. Bopanna, very strong on serve so far, almost single handedly won 2 break points and broke for 3-1, commanding shots from the net, getting his volleys perfect and staying on the attack. He then held to 15 to consolidate for 4-1 and keep the match on his racquet.
But then came the twist, as Bopanna’s serve faltered when it mattered, and he was broken for the first time in two matches just when he was serving for a place in the final. It was perhaps an importune case of nerves but the pair couldn’t capitalise on 3 match points in the next game either, as Zhang came back from 0-40 down to hold for 5-5.
With no more breaks, the match was finally decided in the 10-point match tiebreaker, where Bopanna stepped up when it mattered the most and clinched the match with steady serving, movement at the net and then an ace on the first of two match points.
The key stats were the 33 winners and 6 aces from Bopanna and Ebden with a 2/2 conversion rate on break points.
Their final opponents are yet to be decided but both are unseeded pairs who have not faced the second seeds yet. The final will be on Saturday morning and Bopanna said he was glad to have a day to recover after playing and winning back-to-back matches.
What’s in store today?
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Aus Open: Rohan Bopanna, newly minted as the men’s doubles world no. 1 features in the MD semifinal of the Australian Open with partner Matthew Ebden. They face Tomas Machac and Zhizhen Zhang – 7:30 AM
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Cricket: India take on England in the first test at Hyderabad, sans Virat Kohli – 9:30 AM
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Super Cup: It’s the second semifinal between Mumbai City FC and Jamshedpur FC – 7:30 PM.
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Badminton: Action from the Indonesia Masters where Lakshya Sen, Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George are the only Indians left
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Table-tennis: The WTT Star Contender continues in Goa with plenty of Indians in action.
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Shooting: 2024 ISSF World Cup, Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun in Cairo, Egypt
What happened yesterday?
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Rohan Bopanna is all set to become the new world no. 1 in men’s doubles after a quarterfinal win at the Australian Open.
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PKL: Dabang Delhi edged past Haryana Steelers 35-32, while Tamil Thalaivas thrashed home side Telugu Titans by a 54-29 scoreline.
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Indonesia Masters: Lakshya Sen, Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George advanced to the second round but HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth made early exits.
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IWL: Kickstart FC held leaders Odisha FC to goalless draw
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Super Cup: East Bengal entered the Super Cup final after defeating Jamshedpur.
You can check all the details of yesterday’s news events, here.