Ebden/Purcell Save Five MPs, Stun Ram/Salisbury In Wimbledon Semi-Final

Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell’s hopes appeared all but over in their Wimbledon semi-final against top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury on Thursday, but the Australian pair turned things around in spectacular style to seal a championship match spot at the grass-court Grand Slam.

Ebden and Purcell fended off five match points for their opponents in the third-set tie-break, a pivotal moment in their 3-6, 6-7(1), 7-6(9), 6-4, 6-2 victory on No. 1 Court. The 14th seeds used the momentum from that third-set escape to dominate the second half of an enthralling three-hour, 59-minute encounter, breaking serve four times to reach their second major final of the season.

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It is the second time that Ebden and Purcell have beaten Ram and Salisbury in a Grand Slam semi-final this year, having also defeated the American-British duo in the last four at January’s Australian Open. Thursday’s win in London extended the pair’s Grand Slam match record to 13-3.

Awaiting the Australian pair in Saturday’s final will be defending champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic or 2019 winners Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.