By Erik Gudris | @atntennis | Saturday, July 13, 2024
In a men’s doubles tournament filled with upsets, it’s probably not a surprise that a longshot, unseeded team took home the Wimbledon championship.
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Henry Patten of the United Kingdom and Finland’s Harri Heliovaara delighted Centre Court fans by winning a razor close final, that included saving three Championship points, against the 15th seeded Australian team of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson 6-7(7), 7-6(8), 7-6(9).
"It couldn't have been a closer match," Patten said in the trophy ceremony, "You all are amazing. So many of my family members and friends have come here and I thank you all."
Heliovaara added, “We were a little lucky, but sometimes you need luck to win a tennis match. We will definitely enjoy it. The tears you see, it's all very emotional."
On the way to the final, the pair upset multiple seeded teams included the No. 5 seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, No. 4 seeds Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo and No. 4 seeds Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo.
It’s a remarkable result for both Heliovarra and Patten as both men, at various times, in their career, almost walked away from the sport to pursue other careers.
The 28-year-old Patten, who became a college tennis standout at the University of North Carolina - Asheville, worked as a statistician at the 2016 and 2017 Wimbledon championships.
Heliovaara, age 34, who stepped away from the sport in 2013 due to spine issues, returned to school, and tried to become an airline pilot, but was unable to pass the medical exam. After finally getting healthy, he decided to give doubles another go.
Now both men find themselves as Wimbledon champions after only having started playing together in April. The pair won ATP titles earlier in the year at both Marrakech and Lyon.
The super close final saw the Australian team take the opening set in a tiebreak after Patten and Heliovaara saved five set points earlier. The second set proved equally challenging for the UK/Finnish team as they had to save a match point in the twelfth game of the second set.
The Australians found themselves in the lead again in the second set tiebreak. The pivotal moment of the match came when Thompson hit a drop volley he thought was a winner, only to see Patten hit a down the line winner.
Patten and Heliovaara saved two more match points before taking the second set tiebreak and forcing a decider. The final set needed a match tiebreaker to decide the title. Purcell and Thompson led 8-6, but it was Patten and Heliovaara who won five of the next six points to seal the victory.
A devastated Thompson said afterwards, “I'm devastated. We were so close."
This is the first major title for Patten and the second major title for Heliovaara who won the US Open Mixed Doubles title last year with Anna Danilina. Patten becomes only the third British man in the Open Era, along with Jonathan Marray and Neal Skupski, to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles title.
Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images