On January 25, Beijing time, the 2024 Australian Open tennis tournament began the men's singles semifinals. In the first men's doubles semi-final, the Sino-Czech pair Zhang Zhizhen/Mahac (Czech Republic), after 122 minutes of fierce battle, lost to the No. 2 seeds, the Indian-Australian pair Popana (India)/Iboden (Australia), the No. 2 seed of the tournament, and missed the men's doubles final.
The No. 2 seeds were runners-up at last year's US Open and semi-finalists at Wimbledon, and the duo's ATP doubles rankings have risen to the top two. However, Popana is 43 years old, the slightly younger Ibuden is also 36 years old, and the more age-dominant Zhang Zhizhen/Mahač (Czech Republic) are not without opportunities.
In the first set, both sides performed relatively steadily. The No. 2 seed broke serve for the only time in the first set in the fourth game and relied on that break advantage to win the first set 6-3. The first set lasted 32 minutes, and Zhang Zhizhen/Mahac (Czech Republic) fell behind 4-12 in the winning points, which became the main reason for the loss.
In the second set, the course of the match was exactly the opposite of the first. Zhang Zhizhen/Mahač (Czech Republic) made a crucial break in the fourth game and relied on the break advantage to pull back the set with a score of 6:3. In this set, the first-serve scoring rate of the Sino-Czech combination was as high as 94%, leaving the opponent helpless.
In the deciding set, the No. 2 seed still showed an advantage in experience, and broke the serve of the Sino-Czech pair in the fourth game to take a 4-1 lead. Subsequently, both sides held serve to make it 5-3 and enter the service game of the No. 2 seed. Zhang Zhizhen/Mahač (Czech Republic) still did not give up, forcing two break points in a row and achieving a break to chase the score to 5:4. In the tenth game, the Sino-Czech combination experienced a frightening moment in their inevitable service game, facing the opponent's three consecutive break points, tenaciously holding serve and bringing the score back to parity. After that, both sides successfully held serve and had to decide the final winner by grabbing 10. In the tie-break, the more experienced No. 2 seed had the last laugh, winning 10-7 and winning the deciding set 7-6 to win the entire match.
Although he was not able to reverse and advance to the final, Zhang Zhizhen's performance at this Australian Open was also remarkable. Perhaps the breakthrough in this doubles competition can open another window for the career of China's "first brother". The other semi-final will be played later against two unseeded pairs – Italy's Simeone Boleri/Andrea Vavasori and Germany's Yannick Hanfmann/Dominique Kepfer.
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