London, England: In an exciting men’s doubles final at Wimbledon on Saturday, British player Henry Patten and Finnish player Harri Heliovaara defeated Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson 6-7(7) 7-6(8) 7-6(11-9) to win their first grand slam titles.
The Australians, who had defeated the top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the semifinals, faced the unseeded pair of Patten and Heliovaara, who had only begun playing together three months prior. Surprisingly, there were no service breaks during the match as every set ended in a tiebreak. Patten and Heliovaara, under increasing pressure with every game, saved three championship points in the second set to force a decisive.
The Centre Court audience gave Patten, a former Wimbledon statistician, and his Finnish partner a standing ovation after they defeated the Australians in a thrilling battle that lasted almost three hours on court. “There are so many incredible people out there. The match could not have been more closely contested. Really, I can’t recall what transpired. Harri is probably the same, too,” Patten remarked. While Heliovaara had advanced to two quarterfinals at a grand slam, Patten had never advanced past the third round. The Finnish player’s emotions overcame her, as she was seen crying on the court.
“We were fortunate today, but sometimes serendipity is necessary to win a game of tennis… It’s really emotional, and the tears say it all,” he remarked. The Australian pair was nearly unbeatable on serve in the thrilling and suspenseful opening set, dropping just two games, but Patten and Heliovaara were as formidable. When the British-Finnish pair made multiple mistakes, handing the Australians five set points, it was all one-way traffic in the tiebreak until Patten rose to the occasion and saved four.
But when Heliovaara’s comeback went barely wide, Purcell and Thompson found their groove again and won the set. The Australians maintained their strong serve in the second set as their ace total increased. Patten and Heliovaara were unable to break them even as the set proceeded serve-only to a score of 6-5.
points for championships The match’s first break point opportunity for Purcell and Thompson came on Heliovaara’s service during a championship point, but Patten saved him at the net with a brilliant volleyed winner to set up another tiebreak. The fans erupted in approval as Patten and Heliovaara defeated the Australians during the changeover, saving championship points twice in the tiebreak on difficult rallies. They then won the second set and forced a deciding.
Before the underdog duo of Patten and Heliovaara triumphed and fell to their knees, the final set featured more rallies and more of the same on serve as both pairs refused to blink first. “I am inconsolable. We were in the lead with championship points. This is the nature of tennis,” Thompson remarked.
The 2022 Wimbledon doubles champion Purcell complimented their rivals. He said, “It would have been nice to have the extra two sets,” to applause. “But I’m super happy for these boys, they deserve it.”