Bob and Mike Bryan beat Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo in the final of the Barclays ATP World Tour finals, 6-7(5), 6-2, 10-7.
In the first set, both teams were able to hold serve easily, barely losing a point on serve. In the tiebreak, Dodig/Melo managed to pull out a mini-break lead, and clenched the set when Mike Bryan returned a serve wide.
At 1-2 in the second set, Melo quickly got down 15-40. They managed to save the first break point, but lost the game on a double fault.
Serving to stay in the set, Melo again went down double break point, and this time Bob Bryan grabbed the set with a backhand volley.
The super-tiebreak opened with a flurry of mini-breaks. Eventually the Bryans pulled out a 9-7 lead, and on championship point, Melo sent a lob long.
This was the Bryan brothers’ fourth time winning the prestigious year-end championship. They had previously won in 2003, 2004, and 2009.
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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis