Indian tennis stalwart Rohan Bopanna and his Australian teammate Matthew Ebden advanced to their third men's doubles semi-final this year, defeating Dutchman Sem Verbeek and Aussie John-Patrick Smith at the Miami Open here.
The duo, who had won the Australian Open earlier this year, overcame several unforced errors in the first set to win the gruelling quarterfinal 3-6 7-6 (4) 10-7.
The victory for the 44-year-old Bopanna, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, will help him stay in the in top-10 in the ATP doubles ranking and ensure direct qualification for the Paris Olympics in July-August.
The cut-off date for rankings to be considered for direct Paris qualification is June 10. The Bopanna-Ebden pair, seeded No.1 here, didn't enjoy a dominant first and second-serve percentage but came up with breaks at crucial junctures in the second set to take the match into the tie-breaker before winning it and drawing level.