Peers and Ebden hoping to outskill US singles aces

Veterans Matt Ebden and John Peers are to discover if their doubles excellence can outskill the singles muscles of two of the best players in the world when they shoot for an Olympic medal at Roland Garros.

The Australian duo, a wily combination of two 36-year-olds who have bagged a hatful of double titles between them, will have to down Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz, America’s top two singles powerhouses, in Friday’s semi-final to gain a shot at the gold-medal match.

“We’re enjoying being here and thriving at the moment. We’re ready to keep going,” said Peers, the last Australian man to win a tennis medal at the Games.

Paul, the world No.12, and No.13 Fritz teamed up seamlessly in Thursday’s quarters to bring a ruthlessly unsentimental end to Andy Murray’s career, when they demolished the great Briton and his partner Dan Evans 6-2 6-4 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Peers must have wondered if it might come down to him for the second time in less than a month to try to bring down the curtain on Murray.

For in early July, he had teamed up with Rinky Hijikata to beat the 37-year-old and his brother Jamie Murray on Center Court in the Scot’s final match at Wimbledon.

Instead, though, a more formidable challenge now probably awaits against the two in-form Americans as Ebden seeks to become the 10th Aussie tennis player to win an Olympic medal since the sport returned to the program in 1988.

Peers teamed up with Ash Barty for a mixed doubles bronze at the last Games in Tokyo three years ago, but what he really wants is to emulate Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde as the only gold medalists following the victory for ‘the Woodies’.

It won’t be easy. Fritz and Paul may be known for their singles exploits, but they’re both fine doubles players who’ve had a long experience of playing alongside each other in tournaments.

Ebden was glad to have a day off on Thursday after a hard week’s work, which also saw him reach the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles with Ellen Perez, only to lose agonizingly to the Chinese pair of Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu after they’ d held match points.

Then there was also his first-round humbling at the hands of Novak Djokovic in his first singles match for two years.

This is rather different, though. “We’ve made no secret of our goal, we want to win,” Ebden said. “That’s why we are here.”