Aussie duo Thompson and Purcell in Wimbledon heartbreak

Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell were crestfallen after losing their Wimbledon men's doubles final. (EPA PHOTO)

Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson have been left devastated, suffering the heartbreak of losing in the Wimbledon men's doubles final after holding three Championship points.

The Australian pair were on the verge of continuing the rich tradition of Australian doubles winners at Wimbledon on Saturday evening only to have the title snatched away from them on Centre Court in the most dramatic of climaxes by Finland's Harri Heliovaara and Briton Henry Patten.

In what will go down as one of the great doubles finals at the grass-court slam, the Centre Crowd court were left hailing their local hero, Patten, as the Anglo-Finn partnership prevailed in a thrilling deciding super tie-breaker 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (11-9).

Patten
Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten earned a great escape to win the title.

The Sydneysiders, pals from way back, had for long parts of the match looked set to emerge victorious, as they were so dominant behind their serves, not giving up a sniff of a break point.

Three times, they were just one point away from becoming the seventh Australian men's doubles team in the Open era to lift the crown.

They had a Championship point at 6-5 in the second set, and another two came and went in the subsequent tie-break. Thompson, in particular, looked pained by one of the easier volleys he had missed all day on the third match point at 8-7.

"Beyond devastated," he told the Centre Court crowd, who were still on a high after watching a Briton triumph - and a few titters followed his sad admission.

It prompted Purcell to chip in and tell them sharply: "Don't laugh at him!"

Purcell, who had won the title with Matt Ebden two years ago in what was then a five-set thriller, was left bemoaning how Wimbledon organisers have since then reduced men's doubles finals from five to three sets.

"It would have been nice to have the extra two sets to play with this time, for sure," sighed Purcell.

'Tommo' later concluded: "Plain and simple, it just sucks. Match points, one point away from being a Wimbledon doubles champion. 

"Five-two up, serving in that second-set breaker, I got the ball right in front of me and it's just clipped the net cord and gone over me and then that's turned things around, and it changes quickly. That's the way tennis goes. It's tough."

In a match of no breaks, the Sydney pair conjured up the only three break-point chances and had the best opportunities to seize the day in the final set, only to be constantly thwarted by the stubborn Heliovaara and Patten, who gradually became more inspired as the crowd really got behind them.

Jones
Emerson Jones is the first Aussie since Ash Barty to make the girls' final at Wimbledon.

The Australian pair, the 15th seeds, were hot favourites, after having won three titles together this season, to prevail against unseeded opponents.

Now the last hope of Australian success at SW19 lies on Sunday's final day with exciting 16-year-old Gold Coast prospect Emerson Jones, who became the first Australian girl since Ash Barty 13 years ago to reach the junior final.

Jones, the No.3 seed, defeated American sixth seed Iva Jovic 7-5 6-1 in her semi-final on Saturday to set up a rematch with Slovakian Renata Jamrichova, who defeated her soundly 6-4 6-1 in the Australian Open girls' final in January.

Jones was unable to get to the girls' doubles final, though, beaten 7-5 7-6 (7-5) in the semi with her Italian partner Vittoria Paganetti by Jovic and her US compatriot Tyra Caterina Grant.

License this article

What is AAPNews?

For the first time, Australian Associated Press is delivering news straight to the consumer.

No ads. No spin. News straight-up.

Not only do you get to enjoy high-quality news delivered straight to your desktop or device, you do so in the knowledge you are supporting media diversity in Australia.

AAP Is Australia’s only independent newswire service, free from political and commercial influence, producing fact-based public interest journalism across a range of topics including politics, courts, sport, finance and entertainment.

What is AAPNews?
The Morning Wire

Wake up to AAPNews’ morning news bulletin delivered straight to your inbox or mobile device, bringing you up to speed with all that has happened overnight at home and abroad, as well as setting you up what the day has in store.

AAPNews Morning Wire
AAPNews Breaking News
Breaking News

Be the first to know when major breaking news happens.


Notifications will be sent to your device whenever a big story breaks, ensuring you are never in the dark when the talking points happen.

Focused Content

Enjoy the best of AAP’s specialised Topics in Focus. AAP has reporters dedicated to bringing you hard news and feature content across a range of specialised topics including Environment, Agriculture, Future Economies, Arts and Refugee Issues.

AAPNews Focussed Content
Subscription Plans

Choose the plan that best fits your needs. AAPNews offers two basic subscriptions, all billed monthly.

Once you sign up, you will have seven days to test out the service before being billed.

AAPNews Full Access Plan
Full Access
AU$10
  • Enjoy all that AAPNews has to offer
  • Access to breaking news notifications and bulletins
  • Includes access to all AAPNews’ specialised topics
Join Now
AAPNews Student Access Plan
Student Access
AU$5
  • Gain access via a verified student email account
  • Enjoy all the benefits of the ‘Full Access’ plan at a reduced rate
  • Subscription renews each month
Join Now
AAPNews Annual Access Plan
Annual Access
AU$99
  • All the benefits of the 'Full Access' subscription at a discounted rate
  • Subscription automatically renews after 12 months
Join Now

AAPNews also offers enterprise deals for businesses so you can provide an AAPNews account for your team, organisation or customers. Click here to contact AAP to sign-up your business today.

SEVEN DAYS FREE
Download the app
Download AAPNews on the App StoreDownload AAPNews on the Google Play Store