| Venue: All England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July |
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Britain’s Joe Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram failed to convert five match points as they missed out on a first Wimbledon men’s doubles final.
The top seeds had been dominant until Australians Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell staged a last-gasp fightback to win 3-6 6-7 (1-7) 7-6 (11-9) 6-4 6-2.
Salisbury and Ram had been chasing a third Grand Slam title together.
Ebden was due back on court soon after for the mixed doubles final that also features Britain’s Neal Skupski.
Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk were due to take on Ebden and Sam Stosur straight after the women’s singles semi-finals but Ebden was still playing when those finished.
He will now have a rest after an invitational doubles was hastily arranged on Centre Court, with Australian doubles great Todd Woodbridge rushing off in the middle of his BBC commentary on the Salisbury-Ram match to team up with Cara Black for the exhibition.
High-quality match ends in agonising defeat for Salisbury & Ram
Salisbury and Ram were dominant on their way to taking the opening two sets and after recovering from a break down in the third to level for 4-4 they were just two games away from victory.
The Briton was taken to deuce eight times in a marathon service game that took almost 15 minutes and they fended off four break points to hold and edge even closer to victory in what was a high quality encounter.
But the Australians forced a tie-break and got an early mini-break before being pegged back as Salisbury and Ram set up a series of five match points.
Some on a packed Court One could hardly bear to watch as they came and went, with a Salisbury double fault, a video challenge that showed a shot was out and a lucky rebound off Purcell’s racquet frame scuppering their chances.
Ram netted a powerful Ebden return to send it to a fourth set, where the Australians built on their momentum and broke in the 10th game to set up a decider.
Salisbury and Ram fell a break behind early in the fifth, and despite having a couple of break-back chances – including one in a thrilling 19-shot rally that featured nearly every type of hit in the book – they could not find a way back.
The Briton went long on the Australians’ second match point, triggering wild chest bumps and jumps from the 14th…
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