Bopanna-Ebden will meet match winners Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos and Lloyd Glasspool/Jean-Julien Rojer in the quarter-finals
Rohan Bopanna and Australian teammate Matthew Ebden advanced to their third men’s doubles semi-final this year, beating Sem Verbeek and John-Patrick Smith at the Miami Open.
The duo, who won the Australian Open earlier in the year, overcame several unforced errors in the first set to win the quarter-final 3-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7.
The victory of Bopanna, 44, currently world number 2, will allow him to remain in the top 10 of the ATP doubles rankings and qualify directly for the Paris Olympics in July-August. The deadline for rankings to be considered for direct Olympic qualification is June 10.
Bopanna-Ebden, top seed in Miami, did not serve particularly well but managed breaks at crucial moments in the second set to take the match to a tie-break before winning it and equalizing.
Bopanna, who had taken first place after her success in Melbourne, had lost one place after a quarter-final defeat in Dubai and an elimination in the round of 16 in Indian Wells.
The Indian-Australian pair will meet match winners Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos and Lloyd Glasspool/Jean-Julien Rojer in the last four.
Bopanna and Ebden had also reached the last four of the Adelaide Open in January and reached the final before losing to Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.
