Top-seeded doubles duo Bob and Mike Bryan was on the verge of exiting the ATP Finals on five separate occasions before staging a remarkable comeback against Jamie Murray and John Peers.
During the thrilling encounter, which lasted two minutes short of two hours, the American duo recovered from a set down before fighting back 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 16-14. The win was a devastating blow to the British/American duo who was playing together for the last time before they go their own separate ways.
Throughout the match it was a case of cat and mouse. Murray and peers started triumphantly by opening up a 3-0 lead before the top seeds battled back to force proceedings into a tiebreak. Despite the Bryan brothers coming back, they still succumbed in the opening set as Murray and Peers raced to three sets points, converting on their third.
The closeness from the first set continued in the second set, but this time neither pair was in danger of being broken as there was no break points during 12 games, leading to a vital tie-break for the Americans. There was some tension during the early stage of the set when one of the Bryan’s hit a smash right towards Peers, prompting the Australian to give them a stern look. Once again they were forced to recover from a deficit (3-5) during the second tie-breaker before storming back by winning four straight points to take the match into a super tie-break.
The super tie-break turned out to be super heartbreak for fans of Murray and Peers. The pair had five match points to secure their place in the last four, but failed to take advantage of any. The biggest chance they had happened when Peers misjudged the distance of the ball at 9-8, resulting in him hitting an unforced error. If it wasn’t for the misjudgment, they victory would of been theirs. Instead the Bryan brothers took the win 16-14, in front of a highly animated British audience.
The loss marks the final time that Murray and Peers will play on the tour as a team. This year they have reached the final at two Grand Slam tournaments and have sharply climbed up the rankings. They have ended their partnership after a ‘mutual agreement’. Speaking after their final match together, Murray reflected on their time together.
“It’s been great. Obviously we had lots of success this year, especially the first year we played as well. Yeah, it’s been a long journey for us. I think we started around 80 in the world together and finishing up in the top 10, qualifying for the end-of-year Masters here. Lots of great experiences, Grand Slam finals, won a few tournaments as well”. He said.
Also praising the partnership was their conquerors, Bob and Mike Bryan, who said that they won the match due to ‘mother tennis’ being on their side. Speaking about their opponents, the top seeds have predicted a bright future for both men.
“They are both improving, they will be successful in the future and we both wish the best”. Said Bob Bryan.
The Bryan brothers will now play in the semifinals of the year-end tournament for the 10th time in their career. They have taken the title on four previous occasions in 2003, 2004, 2009 and 2014
