Men’s doubles pairing Matt Ebden and John Peers are one win away from a guaranteed medal after they reached the semi-finals in Paris.
The world No.3 duo outlasted Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff and Dominik Koepfer 7-6(2), 7-6(4) in two nail-biting tiebreaks.
“For us to put our best foot forward for the first couple of matches is fantastic. We’re enjoying being here and thriving in the moment. We’re ready to keep going,” Peers said moments after the win.
“We’re here to try and win gold, that’s what we have come here for.
“It’s another good step, another stepping stone. We made no secret of our goal, we want to win. That’s why we are here. It’s another step in the right direction,” Ebden continued.
In the singles, Alexei Popyrin failed to capitalise on an early break in the first set as he suffered a 7-5, 6-3 defeat to reigning gold medalist Alexander Zverev.
The Aussie had not won a set in his previous two meetings against the world No.3, but the hot and lively conditions ensured a tight affair.
“I’m disappointed. I felt like if I got that first set it could have been anyone’s match. I felt like I was playing quite well up until that point. I was dictating, I was doing everything we set out to do with Lleyton,” Popyrin admitted afterwards.
“My serve is probably my biggest weapon and it gave way in the most important moments.”
Wearing the green and gold and representing Australia at the Olympic Games will forever be a moment to savour.
“Representing the green and gold, that’s always been a dream of mine. To represent my country at the Olympics, Davis Cup and represent my country,” he said.
Further heartbreak saw mixed doubles pair Matt Ebden and Ellen Perez exit the quarter-final stage against China’s Zhizhen Zhang and Xinyu Wang.
A three-set rollercoaster required a deciding set tiebreak, as the Aussies went down 6-7(8), 7-6(8), 10-5.
“Definitely a heartbreaker,” Perez said after the match. I think we did a lot of things right, we put ourselves in positions to win. One point away. That’s tennis.”
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