Down a set and a break, Ebden and Peers looked gone. Then they won Australia’s 12th gold
By Konrad Marshall
Sometimes it feels better to win hard than easy. Other times any win is a great win.
Today at Roland Garros, for Australian veterans Matt Ebden and John Peers – now Olympic gold medallists – it was both.
“From the word go, we’ve known it was going to be a dogfight every match,” said Peers, red-faced and run ragged, minutes after their men’s doubles victory on Philippe Chatrier Court. “We were able to ride a wave and really keep pushing, hanging in there, hanging around, hanging around,” he added. “We just rode the energy of the crowd. It was electric.”
The incredibly close encounter was won just after 2pm in Paris (10pm AEST), the 36-year-old Aussies besting Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram on the orange clay, delivering Australia its 12th gold medal of these Olympics.
The result rested entirely on tiebreakers. The first set decider went to the USA, 6-7 (6-8), then the second set to Australia, 7-6 (7-1), before the Aussie duo fed on their own momentum to secure the match with a 10-8 super tiebreaker.
It wasn’t easy to see this victory coming either, the Australians at one point sitting a set and a break down.
“It was not looking good. We were losing the show. But we kept believing, kept fighting, kept hanging strong,” Ebden said. “You don’t always get the reward for your hard work… But when you do it’s pretty sweet.”
Matt Ebden and John Peers celebrate their gold medal win in the men’s doubles.Credit: Eddie Jim
The win breaks a 28-year national drought, too, the pair becoming the first Australian tennis champions at an Olympics since Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde (known by law in Australia as “The Woodies”) won the same event in Atlanta back in 1996.
That’s not lost on them either. This pair places value on everything from work ethic to Davis Cup to the green and gold itself. Ebden’s been hanging around other Aussie athletes every night, watching our swimmers win gold, and feeding on their confidence. “Honestly, it’s just a buzz in that village with the Aussie team,” he said. “I just get so much adrenaline and belief from them.”
The family get in on the act.Credit: Eddie Jim
His medal, he added, won’t go into the trophy cabinet quickly. “It goes just around my neck. I’ll just sleep with it on, and keep it on me. I don’t think it goes anywhere.”
Nor should it; these medals were earned the hard way. They had to overcome US singles specialists Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul to lock in at least a silver medal, and their opponents in the final were no pushover either, but rather the doubles specialists who ousted Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.
Ram and Krajicek at first made the game look easier - holding serve more simply, and breaking more often. It would be wrong to say they were always in control, but it would be right to say that the Australians never quite were, at least until it mattered on their dramatic surge home.
“Give yourself a chance. Give yourself a chance. Keep going again,” Peers told himself in that run of gritty points. “As soon as you start thinking it’s done, that’s when you’re done.”
The crowd helped, too. It was a day of revelry in the grandstand, with cries of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!” alternating with “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!” and “We’re from ‘Straya!” competing with “Let’s go ’Murica!”
Those who arrived early were treated to a brass band and a DJ on the decks. Oh, and the chair umpire quite literally beat-boxing through the microphone while the linesmen and women breakdanced. Then they were treated to a final for the ages, which ended 2 hours and 2 minutes after it began, with the result they came to see.
“They really lifted us, and changed the match and momentum, so merci beaucoup to the French crowd,” said Ebden. “I don’t think we could have done it without them.”
The winners did everything you do in such settings. They brought their kids on court to share the moment: Ebden with son Harvey, and Peers with daughters Harper and Ellie. They draped themselves in the flag. They lobbed a ball each into the crowd.
Peers says the pair travels all year - “It’s a slog” - and felt blessed to have brought their families along, giving their kids a chance to be inspired. “Hopefully they can dream big one day, and know the sky’s the limit. And they can do anything they put their mind to.”
Ebden - still flummoxed with disbelief - had a hard time ranking the win against other major titles. “Olympics? Gold? Like really?” he asked. “It’s beyond me.”
What they’re in no doubt about, however, is what this means between them. The pair live just streets apart in Perth, and will share this moment forever. “This one’s really special,” said Peers. “We’re going to be talking about this one until we’re 100.”
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