Redemption: Bopanna/Ebden Turn Heartbreak Into Doha Triumph

Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden capped a week of Match Tie-break redemption at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Friday, when they edged Constant Lestienne and Botic van de Zandschulp 6-7(5), 6-4, 10-6 to lift their maiden ATP Tour title as a team.

Despite losing a tie-break to drop a see-saw opening set that featured six breaks of serve, the Indian-Australian pair held its nerve to complete a 99-minute final victory. Bopanna and Ebden converted four of six break point opportunities and took command early in the Match Tie-break, opening 4/1 and 9/4 leads en route to their win.

Last weekend, Bopanna and Ebden suffered final heartbreak in Rotterdam, where they held a championship point in the Match Tie-break before falling to Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek. This week in Doha, the third-seeded pair sealed three of its four victories in Match Tie-breaks, including Friday’s final.

It was Bopanna’s second title in Doha. The 42-year-old lifted the trophy there in 2018 alongside Wesley Koolhof, while he also reached the 2022 final with Denis Shapovalov. His partner Ebden is the first Australian titlist, in singles or doubles, in the history of the Doha event.

Bopanna and Ebden are now 7-3 for 2023, having begun their partnership in Adelaide in January.

Mahut/Martin Book Final Spot In Marseille
At the Open 13 Provence, Nicolas Mahut and Fabrice Martin defeated Romain Arneodo and Sam Weissborn 7-5, 7-5 to secure their place in Sunday’s championship match at the indoor ATP 250.

Home favourites Mahut and Martin broke decisively in the 12th game of both sets in Marseille to secure a 90-minute semi-final victory against the Monegasque-Austrian duo Arneodo and Weissborn. The second-seeded Frenchman will take on top seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin or Indian pair N.Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan in the final.

Cabal/Melo Charge Into Rio Final
In Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Melo is one win away from his first title on home soil since Costa do Sauipe in 2011 after he and Colombia’s Juan Sebastian Cabal defeated Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul 6-4, 6-4. Melo has won 36 titles during his career but has never lifted the trophy in Rio.

In Saturday’s final Cabal and Melo will play fellow South Americans Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molten after the Argentines defeated fourth seeds Francisco Cabral and Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 6-4.