Wimbledon 2024: Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara emerge victorious as they win first Grand Slam title
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Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara have been crowned the 2024 Wimbledon men's doubles champions after producing an impressive display over Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell to win 6-7(7), 7-6(8), 7-6(9).
Patten now becomes the third British man in the open era to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles title, joining Jonathan Marry (2012) and Neal Skupski (2023), while Heliovaara is the first Finnish player in history to win the doubles crown in SW19.
Despite only coming together at the beginning of April, Patten and Heliovaara have achieved one of the greatest feat's in tennis by etching their names onto a Grand Slam trophy, after coming out on the winning side of a gruelling three-set battle on Centre Court.
They now add the coveted Wimbledon doubles crown to the two ATP 250 titles they won on the clay in Marrakech and Lyon.
Patten & Heliovaara’s road to the final:
- First round: won vs Andrea Vavassori (ITA) & Simone Bolelli (ITA) 6-3, 6-4 (seeded 5)
- Second round: won vs Pedro Martinez (ESP) & Jaume Munar (ESP) 7-6(5), 6-3
- Third round: won vs Rafael Matos (BRA) & Marcelo Melo (BRA) 7-6(1), 6-2
- Quarter-final: vs Marcelo Arevalo (ARG) & Mate Pavic (CRO) 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(7) (seeded 4)
- Semi-final: won vs Neal Skupski (GBR) & Michael Venus (NZL) 6-4, 7-6(1) (seeded 9)
- Final: won vs Jordan Thompson (AUS) & Max Purcell (AUS) 6-7(7), 7-6(8), 7-6(9)
In an emotional on-court interview, Finnish star Heliovaara said, “It’s not very easy (to put it into words). I admit, we got a little lucky today but sometimes you need luck to win a tennis match, thank you for admitting that. The tears say it all, it’s very emotional.
Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Briton added, "You’re all amazing out there (the crowd). It couldn’t have been a closer match, I can’t really remember what happened to be honest, I’m sure Harri’s the same.
"For me, the most special thing is to do it in front of so many people who’ve come over, so many of my family members, my best friends, thank you all."
The first of three successive tie-breaks saw the Aussie duo make a commanding start as they sprinted to a 6-1 lead. However, the British, Finnish pair soon sparked a light - winning the next seven points in a row before eventually conceding on Thompson and Purcell’s sixth set point.
This monumental win now sees the 28-year-old Brit reach a new career-high ranking of world No.17 in the live ATP doubles rankings, while the newly crowned Wimbledon champions are fifth in the live Race To Turin.
Neither teams faced a break point until 6-5 in the second, as Patten and Heliovaara served to keep their Grand Slam hopes alive. The Aussie's caught sight of a first championship of the match before the Brit sqandered a volley at the net to force the second tie-break, which saw them draw the scoreback back level.
Into a a nerve-wracking match-deciding tie-break we went and both pairs were tussling for the upper-hand. Having already staved off three championship points from their opponents, the unseeded duo of Patten and Heliovaara caught a glimpse of their first.
Spurred on by a British crowd, Heliovaara slammed a powerful serve which Thompson returned into the net to secure the pair's maiden Grand Slam title as a partnership and as individuals.
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