Bopanna/Ebden Advance To Paris Final, Move Closer To World No. 1

Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden moved to within one win of capturing their third title of the season together on Saturday when they overcame Harri Heliovaara and Mate Pavic 6-7(3), 6-4, 10-6 at the Rolex Paris Masters.

In a hard-fought clash, the third seeds won 88 per cent (46/52) of their first-serve points and were strong in the key moments, saving all three break points to advance after 89 minutes.

If Bopanna and Ebden triumph in Paris, the Indian-Australian team would pass Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek by 60 points to become World No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

Bopanna and Ebden are chasing their second ATP Masters 1000 crown of the year, having triumphed in Indian Wells in March. They have won 12 of their past 14 matches, advancing to the final at the US Open and in Shanghai. They will aim to go one step further in Sunday’s title match when they meet Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury or Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

Bopanna and Ebden will compete at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin later this month to round out their season.