Kontinen/Peers Retain Nitto ATP Finals Title

They may not be finishing the season with the year-end No. 1 Emirates ATP Doubles Team Ranking, but Henri Kontinen and John Peers aren’t leaving the Nitto ATP Finals without hardware.

After producing a serving masterclass, Kontinen and Peers defeated top-seeded Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, 6-4, 6-2, in 70 minutes to retain their title at the season finale.

A year after capturing the trophy in London in their team debut, Kontinen and Peers won four straight matches after dropping their round-robin opener against eighth-seeded Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus to clinch the triumph at The O2 without losing a set in the semi-finals or final. They are the first pair to win back-to-back titles at the season finale since Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in 2003 and 2004.

"I thought every match we played here, we've played better and better as the week has gone on," Peers said. "It's nice to come back and defend our title. It feels good to go on holidays after a win."

It is the fifth title of the season for the Finnish-Australian duo, who have won all five finals they contested. That includes their first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

Kubot and Melo are not finishing their year on a down note, as their first win in Group Eltingh/Haarhuis clinched for them the year-end No. 1 Emirates ATP Doubles Team Ranking, despite a 4-5 record to begin the season.