- Author, Michael Emons
- Role, BBC Sport journalist at Wimbledon
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Great Britain’s Henry Patten and Finland’s Harri Heliovaara saved three championship points on their way to winning a thrilling men’s doubles final at Wimbledon.
Patten, 28, and Heliovaara, 35, clinched a superb 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (11-9) victory against Australian 15th seeds Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson, to the delight of a large crowd on Centre Court on Saturday.
The successful pair dropped to their knees in celebration having clinched a remarkable win.
They had come into the tournament unseeded after only starting to work together in April.
It means there has been a British winner in the men’s doubles in consecutive years after Neal Skupski joined Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands to take the title in 2023.
‘My dad said it was like a bank robbery’
Image source, Rex Features
There were tears from the winning pair on Saturday, while the losing duo were left wondering how they had not become champions.
“It couldn’t have been a closer match,” said Patten, telling the crowd: “You all are amazing. So many of my family members and friends have come here and I thank you all.”
In the following news conference, he added: “It’s completely surreal. My dad came up to me and said ‘That was like a bank robbery’, which is harsh but fair.
“It seemed like we were always down. First set tie-break, 6-1 down, clawed back, lost. Second set tie-break 5-2 down, lucky net cord, pretty good return, but pretty lucky, clawed it back.
“Mini-breaks down in the third-set tie-break. Didn’t get near to their serves all match. Yeah, blew open the doors and ran away with the trophy at the end of it.”
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.”
Thompson, who lost to American Brandon Nakashima in the second round of the men’s singles, summed up the beaten pair’s thoughts by saying: “I’m devastated. We were so close.”
Purcell was aiming for his second Wimbledon success after he and fellow Australian Matthew Ebden won the doubles in 2022.
Assessing his latest final appearance, Purcell said: “It was a great match for the crowd. I’m super happy for the boys, they deserved it.
“You don’t know how many times you will be here so enjoy it, all the best.”
Patten and Heliovaara delight Centre Court
Patten and Heliovaara saved five set points in a thrilling first-set tie-break and had a chance of their own at 7-6, only for the Australians to win three successive points to move ahead in the match.
But Patten and Heliovaara, with the majority of the crowd cheering loudly at every success, fought hard and held off the first of the match points in the 12th game of the second set.
They also then saved two further match points in the tie-break, fighting back from 7-6 and 8-7 behind to take it 10-8 and force a deciding set.
Neither pair could break serve as a 10-point tie-break to settle the match always seemed inevitable.
Purcell and Thompson led 8-6, but Patten and Heliovaara won five of the next six points to seal an incredible victory, one which was marked by a near-deafening roar from a delighted Centre Court audience.
From stats guy to Wimbledon champion
For Patten, there is a remarkable story behind his title success.
Eight years ago, aged 20, he was on the outside courts at Wimbledon working for IBM and collecting match statistics.
Before this year, his only previous attempt in the men’s doubles ended with a loss in the first round in 2022.
The 6ft 6in left-hander, who was born in Colchester and went to school in Ipswich, has a booming serve and a blistering forehand that produced one scorching winner to go 5-4 up in the 10-point tie-break.
This was by far the biggest match of his career and he delivered with great shots as well as being an imposing figure at the net.
Patten has now become only the third British player since 1936 – after Jonathan Marray in 2012 and Skupski last year – to have been a part of winning men’s doubles teams at Wimbledon.
Along with sharing £650,000 in prize money with Heliovaara, Patten can say he has made his own everlasting mark on the sport’s statistics.
Siniakova and Townsend win women’s doubles
In the women’s doubles final on Centre Court, Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the United States became the champions.
They also took a tie-break route to victory against Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealander Erin Routliffe, winning 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-1) in a match that finished at 22:22 BST.
A double fault from Routliffe brought the match to an end, with a delighted Siniakova and Townsend embracing. Shortly afterwards, Townsend was in tears as she went over to celebrate in front of her team.