A doubles double. Both semi-finals in the Mutua Madrid Open doubles took place today, meaning Saturday’s final is now set: Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna will cross swords with Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev for the trophy.

Of the eight players in the penultimate round of the tournament, only two have tasted glory in Madrid: Jean Julien Roger and Rohan Bopanna. The Dutch player is a two-time champion in Madrid (2016, 2019) alongside Horia Tecau while the Indian legend took the spoils in 2015 with Florin Mergea. Only Bopanna now has a chance of a repeat triumph in Madrid.

The first semi-final squared off four specialists in the discipline: Mexican player Santiago González and Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin against Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna. The two best duos of the season met in the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium. After a tight encounter, team Ebden/Bopanna extended their run on tour to win 5-7, 7-6 (3), 10-4, and will be bidding for their third title of the season at the Mutua Madrid Open after those picked up in Indian Wells and Doha.

The second semi-final was another high-quality encounter. Friends Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev booked themselves a place in their first Masters 1000 final in doubles, where Khachanov will be looking to open his account in the discipline. Two days ago, the pair were on opposite sides of the net in the Manolo Santana Stadium bidding for a place in the quarter-finals of the singles event and today they joined forces to knock out Jean-Julien Roger and Marcelo Arévalo, who were on the verge of fighting for their third title of the season.