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The women’s singles draw is nearing its conclusion as the Coco Gauff faces off against Aryna Sabalenka while Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska takes on Qinwen Zheng.
Meanwhile, Aussie star Matt Ebden and Rohan Bopanna are into the men’s doubles final as the former helping an absurd green and gold streak remain intact.
Follow along for live updates from Day 12!
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THE STREAK CONTINUES! AUSSIE STAR KEEPS DREAM RUN ALIVE
Australian star Matt Ebden and Rohan Bopanna are into the final of the men’s doubles after surviving a thrilling three-set contest against Tomas Machac and Zhang Zhizhen.
Ebden’s appearance in the final means it is three consecutive years an Australian has appeared in the men’s doubles final.
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis famously won the 2022 Australian Open men’s doubles — against the fellow all-Aussie duo of Ebden and Max Purcell — while Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler combined to win last year.
It was a see-sawing affair, with Ebden and Bopanna breezing past their rivals to win the first set 6-3 in just 32 minutes.
However, their momentum came to a screeching halt when the Rod Laver Arena roof had to be closed at 1-1 in the second set due to rain.
Australian doubles legend Todd Woodbridge feared it would negatively impact Ebden and Bopanna, especially the former’s serve.
“I like the breeze, the roof open, for Bopanna and Ebden,” Woodbridge said.
“I think they’re a better combination with that.
“I think this (roof closure) actually helps Machac and Zhang. They’re bigger, cleaner ball strikers off the ground. It definitely will help them on serve and give them another cleaner look at some of the returns.
“Matt Ebden was serving with a bit of help from the breeze, now he gets no help from the breeze.”
Woodbridge even described Ebden’s serve as “a little more vulnerable” with the roof closing.
The legend’s fears were confirmed as Machac and Zhang took the ascendancy to win the second set 6-3, forcing the contest into a deciding third set.
Despite the apparent struggles to adapt to the closed roof, Ebden and Bopanna showed no signs of difficulty as they raced out to a 5-2 lead and looked like they would cruise to victory.
But Machac and Zhang refused to lie down, holding serve in the eighth game to make it 5-3 before securing the vital break in the following game.
Their their hard work to find a way back into the semi final contest was then on the verge of being undone when Ebden and Bopanna secured three match points at 0-40.
Remarkably, Machac and Zheng fired back thanks to some big serving from the latter to even the deciding set at 5-5, with the contest eventually going into a 10-point tiebreak.
With the tension ramped up, it was the No. 2 seeding of Ebden and Bopanna that prevailed, showing all of their veteran nous to hold on and take the tiebreak 10-7.
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DAY 12 ORDER OF PLAY (all times AEDT)
Rod Laver Arena
Men’s doubles semi-finals (not before 1pm):
T. Machac (CZE) and Z. Zhang (CHN) def by R. Bopanna (IND) and M. Ebden (AUS) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7)
S. Bolelli (ITA) and A. Vavassori (ITA) v Y. Hanfmann (GER) and D. Koepfer (GER)
Women’s singles semi-finals (not before 7:30pm):
No. 4 Coco Gauff (USA) vs No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka (BLR)
Dayana Yastremska (UKR) vs No. 12 Qinwen Zheng (CHN)
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