Tennis-Australia's Ebden and Purcell channel Woodies to win Wimbledon doubles crown

Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 9, 2022 Australia's Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell celebrate winning their men's doubles final against Croatia's Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic REUTERS/Matthew Childs

LONDON (Reuters) -Australia's Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell prevented the Croatian duo of Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic from winning back-to-back men's doubles titles at Wimbledon with a 7-6(5) 6-7(3) 4-6 6-4 7-6(10-2) victory in the final on Saturday.

It was a long and arduous journey to the final for the Australians, with five of their six matches going to five sets while they saved a total of eight match points along the way.