Ebden and Peers win Olympic doubles gold!

Gold for Australia on Saturday.

At the end of a magnificent final in which the verdict took a long time to emerge, it was finally Matthew Ebden and John Peers who became Olympic champions.

Up against Americans Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek, they prevailed in an extremely tense duel (6-7, 7-6, 10-8).

For Ebden, the story is beautiful. Having been swept aside by Djokovic in the first round of the singles event (6-1, 6-0), the Australian confirmed his status in the doubles by walking onto the top step of the podium alongside his usual compatriot.

This triumph comes as no real surprise, given Australia's specialist line-up.

With Peers, former world number 2 in doubles, and Ebden, currently number 3, there was plenty to worry about.

A successful gamble, then, for the Australian delegation, who picked up their 24th medal of the Olympic Games, their 12th in gold.