The unseeded pairing of Spaniard Tommy Robredo and Brazil’s Marcelo Melo produced an upset in the Brisbane International men’s doubles final, taking the title with a come-from-behind 4-6, 6-1, 10-5 third-set match tie-break victory over top seeds American Eric Butorac and Australia’s Paul Hanley.
After conceding the first set 6-4, Robredo and Melo finished with a flurry, racing through the second before proving too strong in the deciding match tie-break.
The highlight of the match came off the racquet of the 29-year-old Melo, who used every inch of his 203cm frame to hit a forehand passing shot around the net post.
“I saw the short volley and I just ran … after that point the match started to change because then we broke them,” Melo said.
“The second set we played unbelievably.”
Playing in their first tournament as a pairing, the duo also knocked out British second seeds Jamie Murray and Colin Fleming on their way to the final.
“We decided to play together just to see what would happen … We only decided at the beginning of December,” Melo said.
“If we have the opportunity to play again, for sure we will.”