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Matthew Ebden and John Peers clinched a gold medal for Australia after defeating the American duo of Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek in the finals of the men's doubles event at the ongoing Paris Olympics. The Australians made a comeback after losing the first set and emerged as the winners with scores of 6-7, 7-6, and 10-8.
The veteran pair ended Australia's 28-year-old drought by winning the Olympic tennis events. Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge were the last players to win gold for Australia in tennis, having done so during the 1996 Atlanta games.
Ebden reflected on winning the gold medal at the Olympics after the final. Here's what he said:
“We’re just in disbelief, Todd and Mark (Woodbridge) have both been coaches and mentors for both of us, but for me personally to win gold for us and the country is amazing.“I moved to Australia when I was younger and Australia has adopted me.“I think it’s the greatest country on earth and I’m so happy to be called an Australian," Ebden said (Via Chanel 9 Australia)
Ebden went on to talk about how close Peer's Perth home was to his own.
“We live about 2 kilometers from each other back home in Perth Australia. We’ll be talking about this until we’re 100 years old,” Edben stated.
Meanwhile, Peers expressed happiness and delight at the victory and expressed gratitude for the presence of family and friends.
"It’s amazing to have the family and friends in the crowd. Matt’s son is here as well. “We got to share it with our families. Matt and I were just saying: We can’t believe it. It’s what we hoped for a few months ago, but now it’s a reality. We’re actually gold medalists,” Peers said. (Via NBC)
Peers clinched his second Olympic medal in Paris, adding to the mixed doubles bronze he won with Ash Barty at the Tokyo Games. Meanwhile, 36-year-old Ebden claimed his first Olympic medal with this victory.
"I would do anything to be at the Olympics again" - Matthew Edben recalls John Peers's comment before the 2024 Olympics
Matthew Ebden recalled the lead-up to the Paris Olympics, when he was searching for a doubles partner. Despite having higher-ranked Australian options, the 36-year-old expressed his desire to team up with former Olympic bronze medalist John Peers.
“A few months ago I started thinking about this, it’s a bit strange as we both live down the road from each other, our wives are friends, the kids are friends,” Ebden said.
“He said ‘I would do anything to be at the Olympics again and that was all I needed to know,” Ebden added.
The 36-year-old Australians enjoyed a formidable run throughout the tournament, overcoming strong opposition from pairs like Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul (USA) and Dominik Koepfer and Jan-Lennard Struff (Germany). Their journey culminated in a thrilling final against Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.
