LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) – World number one pair Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara claimed their third major together as they beat Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo 7-6(4) 7-6(3) to win the men’s doubles title at Wimbledon for the second time on Saturday.
The match did not produce a single break point as the servers held their ground to force a tiebreak in both sets, where Briton Patten and his Finnish partner Heliovaara prevailed.
“These are the moments you’ve always dreamed of, playing on the Centre Court of Wimbledon. But doing it twice, this well, I need to thank Henry for being the best partner in the world,” said Heliovaara, who first won at Wimbledon in 2024 during the first year of his partnership with Patten.
Heliovaara’s quick shots from the net and an ace from Patten put the top seeds 4-1 ahead in the first set tiebreak.
Pavic and Arevalo tried to make the most of a double fault from Patten to reduce the gap, but the sixth seeds fell short.
Patten and Heliovaara pushed for a break in the second set, and got close as they reached deuce at 4-4 and 5-5, but their opponents held on both times, forcing another tiebreak.
After Arevalo’s volley ended up in the net, a sharp serve from Patten put him and Heliovaara 3-0 up, which proved to be too much for 2024 French Open champions Pavic and Arevalo.
Patten and Heliovaara, who also won the Australian Open last year, held back their tears as they received a standing ovation from the crowd at the All England Club.
“The ATP Tour submitted proposals to maybe cut some of the doubles, and I am a strong believer that we’re here to grow the game,” said Patten.
“I think this is a fantastic example of the joy that doubles can bring… we should be growing the sport instead of taking opportunities away.”
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Hugh Lawson)
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