Venus, Mektic edged out in Queen’s final but take confidence into Wimbledon

Michael Venus and Nikola Mektic lost 6-3 6-7(5) 10-6 to the British duo of Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool in the final of the prestigious Queen’s tournament in London. 

The result brings an end to Venus’ seven-match winning streak at the event, but the week has underlined that he and his Croatian partner are building momentum at the right time ahead of Wimbledon, which begins on June 30.

Early in the final, Venus showed resilience to save two break points in his opening service game, but when Mektic found himself down 15-40 at 3-4, the British pair seized their opportunity and got the break. 

Glasspool served out the set confidently to put one hand on the trophy in front of a big and supportive home crowd.

The second set threatened to slip away just as quickly when Mektic dropped serve again at 1-1, missing a volley on break point to give Cash and Glasspool a crucial lead. With momentum firmly with the Brits, Venus and Mektic were staring at a straight-sets defeat on a surface where comebacks can be hard.

Yet they found a way to fight back. They immediately broke Cash’s serve to level the set, showing the sort of grit that has made Venus and Mektic mainstays at the business end of ATP doubles tournaments. 

In the tiebreak, they led 4-2 at the change of ends, and Venus then drilled a stunning return winner off a Cash serve to edge further ahead. That point proved decisive as they held their nerve to force a super tiebreak.

However, the final twist favoured the British pair. Cash and Glasspool made the stronger start, leading 4-2 at the first change of ends and 7-5 at the next. 

Venus and Mektic couldn’t force a turnaround and on the first championship point, Glasspool fired a wide serve that Mektic could only catch with the frame of his racquet.

Afterwards, Venus took plenty of encouragement from how he and Mektic stayed in the contest.

“I practice with them both a bunch and know them well, and they both serve very big,” Venus said. 

“On grass, when they hit spots like they do, it makes it extremely tough to get into return games and try and get some momentum going. 

“We were kind of out of the match, really — down a set and a break, and we hadn’t really been in any return games. 

“We managed to find a way in one and got the break back. Then we hung around and got a couple returns in the tiebreaker, and then we’re playing a super tiebreak. “We were a little bit lucky to be in that situation. But in the end, they were the better team and played better, so they deserve to win.”

At this level of doubles, deciding matches by a super tiebreak is often a coin toss, and Venus acknowledged the fine margins involved.

“The serves they had in the super tiebreak, they didn’t really give us any chances to get in any points and they were able to get in a few returns and that’s the difference,” he said. 

“In those moments it’s about trying to hit your spots and finish things off. But yeah, they just did a better job today.”

Despite the disappointment, the week at Queen’s has been a valuable tune-up for Wimbledon, where Venus and Mektic will look to carry their strong form onto the sport’s biggest stage.