Eric Butorac '03 (right) and doubles partner Jean-Julien Rojer after winning a tournament in Tokyo in 2010.
Gustavus alumnus Eric Butorac ’03 has advanced to the semifinals of the men’s doubles draw at the Australian Open being played in Melbourne. The Australian Open is the first of four major tournaments on the Association of Tennis Professionals calendar.
Butorac, and doubles partner Jean-Julien Rojer of Curacao, defeated the No. 4 seeded team of Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Oliver Marach of Austria 6-3, 6-4 in their quarterfinal match on Tuesday afternoon in Australia (Monday evening in the U.S.).
This is the first grand slam semifinal appearance for Butorac in his career. Butorac reached the quarterfinals of last year’s Australian Open with then partner Rajeev Ram before falling to the top seeded duo of Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan.
Butorac and Rojer defeated Andrey Golubev and Denis Istomin 6-7, 6-4, 6-0 in the first round before knocking out the 12th seeded team of Mark Knowles and Michal Mertinak 7-6, 6-0 in the second round. In their third round match, Butorac and Rojer defeated the Spanish tandem of David Marrero and Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-3, 6-4.
Butorac and Rojer are the only unseeded team remaining in the men’s doubles draw. They will now face the No. 1 seeded American team of Bryan and Bryan in their semifinal match on Rod Laver Arena. The match will be played at 6 p.m. Central Standard Time on Wednesday, Jan. 26. The match can be viewed live online at espn3.com.
Butorac, a native of Rochester, Minn., is currently ranked No. 35 in the world in men’s doubles. He has nine ATP Tour doubles titles to his credit, including two with his current partner Rojer.
You can follow Butorac’s progress at the Australian Open online at australianopen.com.
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Media Contact: Director of Media Relations and Internal Communication Luc Hatlestad
luch@gustavus.edu
507-933-7510
This has been great fun to watch Booty’s progress! I wish them all the best in their round against the Bryan brothers. On any given day…