Bopanna-Ebden battle into US Open semi-finals

India’s Rohan Bopanna, partnering Australia's Matthew Ebden advanced to the semi-finals of the men’s doubles at the US Open tennis tournament, at Flushing Meadows, New York, on Tuesday.

The sixth seeds scored a 7-6(10), 6-1 victory over the 15th seeded American combination of Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow in the quarter-finals.

They will meet France's Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the 2015 champions, who got the better of Robert Galloway of the United States and France's Albano Olivetti 7-5, 6-4 in another quarter-final.

Bopanna and Ebden saved seven set points in a nail-biting opening set, recovering from 0-40 on Ebden’s serve at 5-6, and survived four more set points in a tense 22-point tie-break that followed.

In the second set, Lammons and Withrow, who were not broken on serve thus far in the tournament, were at the receiving end. They conceded two breaks in the second before Ebden and Bopanna sealed victory in an hour and 28 minutes.

The Indo-Aus pair had 10 aces and saved all nine break points they faced in the match.

Earlier this season, Bopanna and Ebden won titles on hard courts in Doha and Indian Wells. They also reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in July.

Meanwhile, Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury moved to within two victories of becoming the first team in the Open Era (since 1968) to capture three consecutive US Open titles. They got the better of Argentina's Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4, 6-3.

The American-British team, which won their last 16 matches together in New York, broke four times to advance after an hour and 42 minutes.

The third seeds have dropped just one set en route to the last four as they chase their second title of 2023.

They will next play Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek. The Croatian-American pair beat Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.