AN Australian Open doubles quarter-final match was this morning forced to be moved courts after the surface began “bubbling”.
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden were taking on Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni on Court 3 when the bizarre incident occurred.
Rohan Bopanna identified an issue with the court
Further inspection appeared to find ‘bubbling’ in the surface
The umpire was forced to temporarily halt play
Bopanna, 43, went into the match knowing that victory would see him become the oldest ever world No.1.
But he had to do so in bizarre circumstances when areas of the Court 3 surface began to “bubble” – preventing the ball from bouncing.
Commentating on the match, former Aussie favourite John Millman said: “Sometimes it’s hard to see the small bubbles, the bigger bubbles are visible to the eye, but sometimes bubbling can occur on the hard courts
“There were some problems on the US Open courts years ago with bubbling, and it’s where the moisture gets stuck underneath the surface.
“The ball doesn’t bounce on it, it really affects the bounce. If the bubbles get big enough it can actually be quite difficult to move on.”
Bopanna demonstrated to the umpire that the ball was not bouncing in certain areas, while Ebden said: “Oh wow. If a serve hits this, it’s a problem.”
The Court 3 surface was subjected to heavy rain a fortnight ago.
Former Aussie Open doubles champion Geoff Masters added: “If some moisture has gotten underneath the surface it’s possible it caused some bubbling.
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“That’s most likely how this has come about, I would suggest.”
And today’s “bubbling” issue was noticed just three games into the match, with Gonzalez and Molteni leading 2-1 on serve.
The contest was temporarily halted, and had to later be resumed on Margaret Court Arena.
Bopanna and Ebden went on to win the match 6-4, 7-6(5) when it resumed, sealing a place in the semi-finals where they’ll meet Zhang Zhizhen and Tomas Machac.
The Indian also confirmed that he will become world No.1 at the end of the tournament aged 43 years and 330 days – making him the oldest player to hit the summit.
After the match, Bopanna said: “It’s just going to inspire a lot of people, and I don’t think just in tennis.
“People all over the world, being 40 and above, it’s just going to inspire them in a different way.”
Giving credit to his partner, he added: “Matt and I both have equal points, so technically I think we should be No.1 together.”
EPABopanna and Ebden won their quarter-final after it was moved to Margaret Court Arena[/caption]