Ebden/Peers dig deep for gold in Paris Olympic final

Matthew Ebden and John Peers pulled off a stirring comeback and fended off some Match Tie-break tension on Saturday afternoon in Paris. Now, they are Olympic champions.

The unseeded Australian pair defeated Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-7(6), 7-6(1), 10-8 in the gold-medal match. After recovering from a set and a break down, Ebden and Peers produced some of their best tennis of the teams’ maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter to clinch victory and spark joyous celebrations on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

🇦🇺 AUSTRALIAN GOLD 🌟@mattebden and @johnwpeers come from a set down to defeat Krajicek/Ram 6-7 7-6 10-8 and win GOLD in #Paris2024 #Olympics | #tennis pic.twitter.com/IWx0W0MHVQ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 3, 2024

Neither team had dropped a set en route to the final and the fourth-seeded Krajicek and Ram were on track to complete a perfect week in the French capital when they led by a set and a break. Yet just as they had in the opening set, Ebden and Peers rallied from 2-4 to force a tie-break in the second. This time they won it, and they then produced a masterful Match Tie-break display.

The Australians charged into a 9/5 lead in the decider, but they were made to sweat as Krajicek and Ram saved the first three of their opponents’ four gold-medal points. Ebden and Peers kept their cool to convert the fourth, however, and claim the gold medal in just their fifth event as a team.

With their two-hour, four-minute triumph, the two 36-year-olds won Australia’s second gold medal in Olympic Tennis Event history. The No. 3 and No. 59 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings, respectively, Ebden and Peers join ATP Tour greats Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, who triumphed at Atlanta 1996, as Australian Olympic tennis champions.

In the bronze-medal match, Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul earned their spot on an Olympic podium for the first time by overcoming Czech duo Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek 6-3, 6-4.

The power of Top 20 singles players Fritz and Paul proved decisive in the 70-minute match. The third seeds fired 23 winners and converted three of 11 break points they earned to ensure that the United States leaves Paris 2024 with two men’s tennis medals.

_{^{Long-time friends Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul celebrate after winning bronze at the Paris Olympics. Photo Credit: Carl de Souza/AFP via Getty Images}}

Olympic debutant Fritz and his partner Paul were contesting their second tour-level semi-final as a pair, having also reached that stage on the Queen’s Club grass in 2022. After Krajicek and Ram earlier claimed silver, Fritz and Paul are the sixth American team to win a men’s doubles medal since the Olympic Tennis Event returned in 1988.