Zhang, Machac fall short in men's doubles semifinal at Australian Open

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The barnstorming run of China's Zhang Zhizhen and Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic at the Australian Open ended on Thursday as they fell short in a thrilling men's doubles semifinal to second seeds Matthew Ebden of Australia and Rohan Bopanna of India.

The unseeded Chinese-Czech pairing had unexpectedly made a strong tilt at the title but were halted by doubles specialists Ebden and Bopanna 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7).

The Australian-Indian pairing were finalists at last year's U.S. Open but have yet to win a Grand Slam title together. They will face the Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the final.

Zhang, who is ranked 625th in doubles, had enjoyed a spectacular run with Machac, highlighted by their third-round upset over doubles specialists and third seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.

Thursday's loss ended the Australian Open campaign of Zhang, China's highest-ranked men's singles player, as he had fallen in the second round to 21st seed Ugo Humbert in four sets.

Zhang Zhizhen (L) of China and Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic in action during their doubles match against the Australian-Indian pair Matthew Ebden/Rohan Bopanna (not pictured) at Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, January 25, 2024. /CFP

Zhang Zhizhen (L) of China and Tomas Machac (R) of the Czech Republic in action during their doubles match against the Uruguayan/Czech duo Ariel Behar/Adam Pavlasek at Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, January 23, 2024. /CFP

Zhang Zhizhen (L) of China and Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic celebrate their victory over American-British pair Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury (not pictured) at Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, January 21, 2024. /CFP

Zhang Zhizhen (L) of China returns a shot while his Czech pair Tomas Machac watches during their doubles match against Hungarian pair Marton Fucsovics/Fabian Marozsan at Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, January 20, 2024. /CFP

Zhang Zhizhen and Tomas Machac's historic doubles run at 2024 Australian Open

First round: Zhang/Machac won 6-4, 7-5 vs Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen of Belgium

Second round: Zhang/Machac won 7-6 (2), 6-3 vs Marton Fucsovics and Fabian Marozsan of Hungary

Third round: Zhang/Machac won 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 vs Rajeev Ram of the U.S. and Joe Salisbury of UK

Quarterfinal: Zhang/Machac won 6-3, 6-1 vs Ariel Behar of Uruguay and Adam Pavlasek of the Czech Republic

Semifinal: Zhang/Machac lost 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (7) vs Matthew Ebden of Australia and Rohan Bopanna of India

Zhang Zhizhen of China in action during his singles match with Ugo Humbert of France at Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, January 18, 2024. /CFP

Zhang Zhizhen of China plays a backhand return to Federico Coria of Argentina (not pictured) during their Australian Open singles match in Melbourne, Australia, January 15, 2024. /CFP

Zhang Zhizhen's singles run at 2024 Australian Open

First round: Zhang Zhizhen won 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) vs Federico Coria of Argentina

Second round: Zhang Zhizhen lost 2-6, 7-5, 1-6, 6-7 (3) vs Ugo Humbert of France

(With input from Xinhua)