Bopanna/Ebden Reach Paris SFs, Move Closer To World No. 1

The battle for the top pair in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings is in full force at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden, who are currently third in the Race, booked their semi-final ticket Friday at the ATP Masters 1000 event, where they cruised past fifth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 6-2. The Indian-Australian duo won 92 per cent of their first-serve points, compared to their opponent’s 61 per cent. Bopanna and Ebden will next compete in their third consecutive tour-level semi-final.

After Harri Heliovaara and Mate Pavic upset top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 6-4, 6-4 on Friday, Bopanna and Ebden have a chance to move to the top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings should they claim the Paris title. Bopanna and Ebden, who will face Heliovaara and Pavic in the semi-finals, trail World No. 1 team Dodig and Krajicek by 580 points.

In the bottom half of the draw, second seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski will face Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the quarter-finals Friday evening. Fourth seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury meet Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow in the last eight.

Koolhof and Skupski also have a chance at claiming the top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings on Monday. If Koolhof and Skupski fail to reach the final while Bopanna and Ebden triumph, the Indian-Australian team would pass Dodig and Krajicek by just 60 points to become World No. 1.