Tom Billings and Richard Owen seized the World Doubles Rackets Championship by winning the necessary game in New York.
The challengers, who won 4 - 0 at Queens Club in the first leg, needed just one game to claim the title and defeat the defending champions, James Stout and Jonathan Larken.
But with Stout and Larken gaining home court advantage as the pairs travelled to the New York Racquet and Tennis Club, victory was far from assured.
The champions won the first game 15 - 6, and Billings and Owen had to hold their nerve to claim a 15-9 win in the second, and the match.
The opening of the first game reflected the battle for every point as the serve passed between hands and pairs with neither pair establishing a consistent run of serves as the score reached an edgy 5-5.
Stout was more of a dominant presence on court than in the first leg, both as a player and a partner and after securing the serve, the defending champions pulled away with a quickness that belied the length and skill of the rallies to win the first game.
Their momentum ran into the second game, and although Billings opened the serving, the champions snatched service to reach 5-1 and suggest an emphatic comeback.
Instead, the challengers held firm to stopped Larken’s run of serve and the points tightened with the pairs keeping close until Stout and Larken were serving 9-10 with the hope of regaining control over the game.
But after a nervy let, dropped point, and a fault in Larken’s second hand serve, the game was back in the hands of Billings and Owens who played the final five points like the champions they were due to become.
The championship was settled at one game just under the hour mark, making the official score over the two legs 5 - 1.
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