‘It just sucks’: Wimbledon epic ends in Aussie heartbreak

Australian duo Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson were unable to convert three separate championship points in an epic three-hour Wimbledon men’s doubles final.

They eventually lost in a three-set thriller to unseeded pair Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara 6-7 (7), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (11-9).

Heliovaara became the first Finnish man to win the Wimbledon doubles and sank to his knees in tears after he and Patten converted their second match point.

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He then put his head on his partner’s shoulder, still sobbing, as they sat in their chairs and waited for the trophy presentation.

“The tears say it all,” Heliovaara said. “It’s very emotional.”

Patten is the third British man in the professional era to win the men’s doubles at the All England Club, joining Jonathan Marray in 2012 and Neal Skupski last year.

Playing on Centre Court following the women’s singles final, the duo never had a break point in the match and missed a set point in the first set after coming from 6-1 down in the tiebreaker to lead 7-6.

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In the second set, they saved a match point at 6-5 and two more in the tiebreaker, where they trailed 5-2 before beginning their turnaround.

In the third-set tiebreaker, the 15th-seeded Thompson and Purcell also led 7-6 but couldn’t close it out.

“Obviously couldn’t have been a closer match,” Patten said. “I can’t really remember what happened to be honest.”

The Aussie pair never faced a break point, hit 19 more winners and won 10 more points, in the near three-hour epic.

“Plain and simple, it just sucks,” Thompson said.

“You know, we had match points, one point away from being a Wimbledon doubles champion.”

Having played 30 matches together this year, this was only Purcell and Thompson’s fifth loss.

“They did it the hard way, they deserved it,” Purcell said.

“I’m proud we made the final. It’s the best run that Jordan and I have had at a Slam, we can’t be mad.”