French Open 2024: Second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden survive early scare at the Roland Garros

Reigning Australian Open champions Matt Ebden and Rohan Bopanna overcame a tough challenge from Brazilian alternates Orlando Luz and Marcelo Zormann to secure a hard-fought victory in their opening match at Roland Garros 2024, maintaining their unbeaten record in Grand Slam matches this season.

Reigning Australian Open champions Matt Ebden and Rohan Bopanna have maintained their unbeaten record in Grand Slam matches this season, but not without a fight. The formidable duo faced a tough challenge in their opening match at Roland Garros 2024, eventually overcoming Brazilian alternates Orlando Luz and Marcelo Zormann in a gruelling three-set battle.

Originally scheduled for Tuesday, the match was delayed to Sunday due to inclement weather wreaking havoc on the Paris schedule. World No.3 Ebden and World No.4 Bopanna, both having enjoyed stints at the top of the rankings following their Melbourne triumph earlier this year, managed to secure a hard-fought 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victory after more than two hours on court.

For 36-year-old Ebden, this win was particularly significant as it snapped a seven-match losing streak in men’s doubles at Roland Garros. The victory propels the second-seeded pair directly into the third round, courtesy of a walkover from Argentina’s Sebastian Baez and Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild in the second round.

Meanwhile, Australian duo Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson also advanced to the third round with a dramatic three-set win over the seventh seeds, Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Nikola Mektic of Croatia. Resuming their rain-delayed match early in the deciding set, Purcell and Thompson emerged victorious with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win. This victory improves their impressive team record to 18 wins from 21 matches this season and matches their career-best doubles results at Roland Garros.

Purcell and Thompson will next face the 2024 Australian Open finalists, the Italian team of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.

John Peers, despite an early exit in the men’s doubles competition with Roman Safiullin, found redemption in the mixed doubles. Peers, a former World No.2 in doubles, teamed up with American Nicole Melichar-Martinez to upset the fifth seeds, Vera Zvonareva and Sander Gille, with a convincing 6-1, 6-4 first-round win. This victory sets up a second-round clash with the defending champions, Japan’s Miyu Kato and Germany’s Tim Puetz.