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Australia's Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell have won their first ATP team title in Houston. Ebden and Purcell, seeded at No. 1, saw off Matej Sabanov and Ivan Sabanov in the Houston final 6-3 6-3. Ebden and Purcell claimed the first break of the match in the third game but their lead was short-lived as the Sabanov brothers broke back in the fourth game to level the set to two games apiece.
Ebden and Purcell had a chance to quickly get up by a break again but the Sabanov brothers saved a break point in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead in the first set. However, blowing an early break and then failing to convert a break point in the fifth game didn't impact Ebden and Purcell as they broke the Sabanov brothers in the seventh and ninth games to win the first set.
After winning the first set, Ebden and Purcell had a chance to start the second set with an early break but missed out on three break points in the second game. However, it didn't take long for Ebden and Purcell to claim a break as they broke the Sabanov brothers in the fourth game to open a 6-3 3-1 lead.
Ebden and Purcell then routinely held on to their serve the rest of the set to clinch a straight-set win.
Ebden and Purcell win their first title on a dominant way
In January, Ebden and Purcell fell just short of winning their first team title at the Australian Open.
Back then, Ebden and Purcell ended runners-up in the Australian Open final to Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis. In Houston, Ebden and Purcell didn't drop a single set en route to winning the title. Elsewhere, Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez won Marrakech after beating Andrea Vavassori and Jan Zielinski 6-1 7-5 in the final.
Vavassori and Zielinski served out the opening game of the match to take a 1-0 lead but then Matos and Vega Hernandez absolutely dominated the rest of the set as they claimed breaks in the third, fifth and seventh games to win the opener in style.
After easily losing the first set, Vavassori and Zielinski bounced back at the start of the second as they earned their first break of the match in the fifth game to open a 3-2 lead. When serving for the set in the ninth game, Vavassori and Zielinski failed to realize a set point as Matos and Vega Hernandez broke back in key moment.
Vavassori and Zielinski's game fell apart after failing to convert a set point as Matos and Vega Hernandez claimed their fifth break of the match in the 11th game and served out for the match in the following game to win their first team title.