Colchester-born Patten is only the third British player to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles title in the Open era after Skupski and Jonathan Marray (2012), and he added later: “It’s bizarre for me because I probably wasn’t prepared to win this tournament. It is only the second time I’ve played it. So, yeah that’s a crazy stat. I idolised Jonny Marray and Skupski last year, they are big heroes of mine. To be joining them as Wimbledon champions is phenomenal. Yeah, that is a nice stat to have.
“It’s surreal and the most amazing thing about it is being there with family and friends, sharing it with them, those that have supported me for such a long time. I’m overwhelmed.”
“My dad came up to me and said, ‘That was like a bank robbery’, which I thought was harsh but fair.
“Yeah, it seemed like we were just always down. First-set tie-break we were 6-1 down, clawed it back and lost. Second-set tie-break we were 5-2 down. Lucky net chord, pretty good return but pretty lucky at the same time. Clawed it back.
“Mini-breaks down in the third-set tie-break, couldn’t get near to their serve all match and blew open the doors and ran away with the trophy basically.”
Heliovaara, who is the first Finnish player in history to win the men’s doubles crown in SW19, added: “I admit we got a little lucky today but sometimes you need luck to win a tennis match. We will definitely enjoy this. The tears say it all, it’s very emotional.”