Ebden and Peers edged out in Paris thriller
Last August, the Aussies clinched gold on Court Philippe Chatrier and in February, after a Davis Cup tie, they decided to team up on tour in search of more men's doubles glory.
On Tuesday, on a breezy Court Simonne-Mathieu at the French Open, Ebden and Peers looked on course for the semis when they won a marathon first set 7-4 on a tiebreaker - just reward for the pressure they had exerted when the No.8 seeds were serving.
But Peers twice had treatment for his heavily-strapped right elbow and Ebden's serve was broken late in the second and early in the third sets as Salisbury and Skupski hit back to win 6-7 (7-4) 6-4 6-4.
It was a gutsy effort by Peers, 36, and Ebden, 37, who live near each other in Perth and were seeded No.15 at Roland Garros.
Having trailed 4-1 in the decider, they broke Skupski for 4-2 and Peers showed no ill effects from his sore arm to hold serve confidently for 3-4.
Another shift in momentum looked on the cards but the Brits had just enough of a lead to get them over the line three games later, in 2 hours 35 minutes, as Skupski held serve to love.
The British pair will next face the US pair Christian Harrison and Evan King, who beat No.2 seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Essendon and veteran midfielder Dylan Shiel part ways following disappointing 2025 season
Veteran midfielder Dylan Shiel's future as an AFL player is suddenly in doubt. Essendon and Shiel have parted ways and it is unclear if there is any interest from rival clubs in the 32 year-old. He has been in and out of the team this year, falling out of favour after Round 10 when the Bombers were thrashed by the Western Bulldogs. Shiel was then dropped and, despite an injury crisis engulfing the club, coach Brad Scott refused to get him back into the team. Eventually, as the Bombers ran out of players, Shiel was finally called back for the Round 19 clash against his former side, the GWS Giants. The 2017 All-Australian does not have a deal for next season and Essendon have no interest in extending his contract. It has been reported that even if the club wanted to re-sign him, he would have declined. The Bombers signed Shiel on good money ahead of the 2019 season. They also gave up two first-round draft picks for the midfielder. St Kilda have previously expressed interest in Shiel. He was on their radar in 2023, but they cooled following concerns about his body and form. However, in 2024 the Saints' interest in the midfielder was rekindled but again it mounted to nothing. Shiel is still keen to play AFL next year. And when he has been given the opportunity, he has shown he can still be a strong contributor. He started the year at half-back, but when he was moved into his preferred midfield spot for the game against Melbourne in Round 5, he was among the team's best with a 30-disposal (and a goal) game. In the Round 20 clash against the Bulldogs, Shiel also had 29 touches. He was banned for last week's match against St Kilda following a curious incident where he pushed Geelong's Mark O'Connor into his own teammate Luamon Lual. The tribunal took almost two hours to reach a verdict after a hearing that went for 66 minutes. Scott said about the incident that Essendon had been punished three times: a free kick against Shiel during the game, an injury to Lual, and a ban to Shiel.
9 News
3 hours ago
- 9 News
Mining giant called to foot the bill after fire ant outbreak
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Mining giant BHP should foot the bill for a major fire ant outbreak in Queensland , an advocacy group says. It comes after odour detection dog teams found the presence of fire ants at several mine sites in the Central Highlands and Isaac Council regions, including at the BHP Broadmeadow Mine west of Mackay. Fire ants are considered invasive and feed on Australian flora and fauna, as well as displacing or eliminating native species. Fire ants can have a serious impact on Australia's ecosystem. (NSW Department of Primary Industries) In light of the latest detection, Reece Pianta believes BHP should be the ones to pay for the treatment required across their sites that were impacted by the fire ant infestation. "When a mining company moves contaminated material and sparks an outbreak, taxpayers shouldn't be left footing the bill – the companies responsible must pay to have their mess cleaned up, no different from an oil spill," he said. "This is a catastrophic breach – shipments from just one infested site have triggered a major regional outbreak. "But every dollar and every drone we have should be focused on wiping out fire ants at the frontlines near Brisbane, not cleaning up after corporate carelessness." The infestation occurred at a BHP mine in Queensland. (Will Willitts) Pianta insists it is not a matter of punishing companies such as BHP in this instance, rather than forcing public funds to be used would undermine efforts to deal with the fire ants issue. Much of the country is at high risk of infestation, according to data from the National Fire Ant Eradication Program. "This isn't about companies footing the bill for everything. But if governments allow outbreaks like this to suck resources away from where they're needed most, we risk undermining the eradication effort across the whole country," he said. "BHP did the right thing reporting and supporting fire ant surveillance work, now they are uniquely well placed to support the response." BHP has been contacted for comment. national Australia queensland mining environment animals CONTACT US Property News: Sydney's iconic wedding cake house is for sale for $9m.
Sky News AU
3 hours ago
- Sky News AU
‘Corporate carelessness': Invasive Species Council blasts an unknown operator for transporting fire ants across central Queensland
An invasive species that costs the Australian economy around $2.5 billion a year has been detected at five mining sites in central Queensland just six weeks after it was reported at a BHP mine. The fire ants were found using odour-detecting dogs in the Central Highlands and Isaacs Region, after an initial outbreak at a Broadmeadow mine. According to the National Fire Ant Eradication Program (NFAEP), it is believed that the ants stowed away in a pallet of bricks that was located some 800km away from a fire ant biosecurity zone. Although the mines involved have not been named, the Invasive Species Council has blasted what its advocacy manager Reece Pianta called a catastrophic case of corporate carelessness. He said moving material that was known to be contaminated was corporate carelessness and warned that the taxpayer were going to be footing the bill for the consequences. 'Every dollar and every drone we have should be focused on wiping out fire ants at the front lines near Brisbane, not cleaning up after corporate carelessness,' he said. But he said that BHP was not to blame for the initial outbreak, adding that they had done the right thing in reporting and supporting the NFAEP. NFAEP's director of Specialist Operations Tom Roberts said the eradication of the pest was a shared community effort. He said that cooperation with industry was vital to ensure that the ants did not end up outside control zones. 'I encourage everyone sourcing equipment or materials that can carry fire ants from within fire ant biosecurity zones to ensure their suppliers follow fire ant safe-practices,' he said. Fire ants were first detected in Australia after a pallet of contaminated wood arrived in Brisbane in 2001. The ants can thrive in over 97 per cent of environments across Australia. The National Fire Ant Prevention Program aims to fully eradicate the ants by 2032, but recent wet weather in southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales has shown the species can travel on floodwaters unaided. In America, they are rumoured to be responsible for up to hundreds of deaths, and it is believed that 174,000 people in Australia could develop allergic reactions.
