India oldie makes history
German doubles cause a big surprise at the Australian Open
January 24, 2024, 6:23 a.m
Yannick Hanfmann and Dominik Koepfer surprisingly reach the semi-finals at the Australian Open. The two Germans hardly play doubles together. Indian tennis senior Rohan Bopanna also tells an amazing story.
The German tennis doubles Yannick Hanfmann and Dominik Koepfer completely surprisingly reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open. The duo defeated Hugo Nys from Monaco and Jan Zielinski from Poland 6:4, 7:6 (7:3) and, despite having little shared doubles experience, continue to be perfectly coordinated in Melbourne. The Davis Cup double Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz, however, were eliminated in the quarter-finals.
“It’s a crazy week. Of course I would rather be in the semifinals in the singles, but it’s a lot of fun,” said Koepfer. “It just feels great. We want to keep it up.” Partner Hanfmann added: “Things just clicked in our game in these week and a half, we love it and enjoy every second.” The Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, who defeated Krawietz and Pütz on Wednesday 7:5, 6:4, are now waiting in the fight for the final ticket.
Hanfmann and Koepfer, who were eliminated in the singles in the first round, had already caused a sensation in the second round and surprisingly eliminated the Australian defending champions Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler. The Indian Rohan Bopanna is also causing a stir. After reaching the semi-finals with partner Matthew Ebden, he became number one in the world in men’s doubles for the first time – at the age of 43. The duo defeated Argentina’s Maximo Gonzales and Andres Molteni 6:4, 7:6 (7:5).
“Thanks to my team, they had to go through difficult moments with me. Thanks to my partner Matthew. This is really special and will always be an incredible experience,” said Bopanna, who turns 44 in March and has been a professional for over 20 years is. The game was temporarily interrupted due to heat blisters on Court 3 and continued in the Margaret Court Arena. “We needed this change and the bubbles,” said Bopanna, laughing: “It’s the first time I’ve seen something like that here.” In the fight for the final ticket, the duo, who have been playing together since the beginning of 2023 and were in the final at the US Open last fall, will face the Czech Tomas Machac and the Chinese Zhang Zhizhen.