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Australia's Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell edged out defending Wimbledon champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in a thriller final at The All England Club to lift their first Grand Slam title as a pair. In the Wimbledon men's doubles final, 14th-seeded Ebden and Purcell outlasted second-seeded Mektic and Pavic 7-6 (5) 6-7 (3) 4-6 6-4 7-6 (2).
Ebden and Purcell saved three break points in the fifth game of the first set, before realizing their first set point in the tie-break to win a tight opener. After winning the first set, Ebden and Purcell had a good chance to claim the first break of the match in the first game of the second set but they missed out on two consecutive break points.
No break points were seen in the rest of the set so a tie-break had to decide the winner of the second set. Mektic and Pavic were 2-1 down at the start of the tie-break but then won six of the next seven points to win the set and tie the match to one-set apiece.
After winning a tight second set, Mektic and Pavic claimed the first break of the match in the first game of the third set and then held on to their serve the rest of the set to go up by two sets to one.
Ebden, Purcell recovered to beat Mektic and Pavic
After winning the second and third sets, Mektic and Pavic had a break points in the opening game of the fourth set but they didn't convert.
In the 10th game of the fourth set - when Mektic and Pavic were serving to stay in the set - Ebden and Purcell claimed their first break of the match to win the fourth set and send the match into a decider. Mektic and Pavic bounced back from losing the fourth set, having claimed the first break of the fifth set in the fifth game to open a 3-2 lead.
However, Ebden and Purcell refused to quit as they broke back Mektic and Pavic in the eighth game to tie the set to four games apiece. In the ninth game, Ebden and Purcell faced two consecutive break points but saved them to go 5-4 up.
As no breaks were seen in the rest of the set, a third tie-break was seen. The two teams were tied at one-point apiece before Ebden and Purcell won three points in a row to open a 4-1 lead. Mektic and Pavic won the sixth point to cut the deficit to 4-2, before Ebden and Purcell won the next six points to clinch the title in style.