Bopanna-Ebden storm into US Open doubles final

IMAGE: Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden. With this feat, the 43-year-old Bopanna also became the oldest player to reach a Grand slam final in the Open era. Photograph: Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters

Continuing their dream run, India’s Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden entered the final of the US Open with a straight-set win over French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in New York on Thursday.

This will be Bopanna’s second appearance in a Grand Slam men’s doubles final.

The sixth seeded Indo-Australian pair, who had reached the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Championships this year, beat the French combination 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 in the semi-finals of the hard court major.

With this feat, the 43-year-old Indian also became the oldest player to reach a Grand slam final in the Open era. Bopanna beat the record of Daniel Nestor of Canada, who was 43 years and 4 months when he played in a Major final, by two months.

Interestingly, it was also in the US Open where Bopanna competed in his maiden Major final way back in 2010 along with Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi.

In the final, Bopanna and Ebden will play the winner of the other semi-final between the American pair of Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury and the Croatian-American duo of Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek at the Louis Armstrong stadium.