Wimbledon men's doubles final becomes five-hour epic
The final of the men's doubles competition at Wimbledon lasted almost five hours, with Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo eventually prevailing.
Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo emerged from a marathon men's doubles final as Wimbledon champions on Saturday, finally wrapping up a 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 13-11 win over Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic after four hours and 40 minutes.
A relatively brief women's singles final between new champion Garbine Muguruza and Venus Williams earlier in the day was more than made up for by the subsequent doubles decider on Centre Court, which was paused momentarily for the roof to be closed as the evening skies drew in.
Kubot and Melo seemed to return from that break with renewed desire to put the match to bed and, with their third championship point, clinched a maiden Wimbledon crown at around 9PM local time.
Brazilian Melo was previously involved in the longest doubles match in history in the current format, winning 28-26 in the final set alongside Andre Sa against Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett at the All England Club in 2007.
The match delayed the start of the women's doubles final, which went ahead as planned 30 minutes after the conclusion of the men's match.