Henry Patten became the third Brit to win the men’s doubles at Wimbledon, after beating Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson 7-6(7), 6-7(8), 7-6(9) along with Finland’s Harri Heliovaara on Saturday.
In a thrilling final that saw all three sets go to a tiebreak after no break of serves, Patten and Heliovaara rescued three championship points on way to their first Grand Slam as a pair.
The win capped off a remarkable tournament for the unseeded duo, who partnered up only at the start of the year. Their route to the final saw them beat French Open winners Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic before overcoming last year’s champion Neal Skupski and his partner Michael Venus in the semifinal.
Purcell and Thompson, who had beaten the first seeds in straight sets in their semifinal, raced into a 6-1 lead in the tiebreak of the first set before Patten and Heliovaara rallied back to save six set points. They were a point away from taking the set after going up 7-6 but the Australian duo held their nerve and claimed the first set after winning the tiebreak 9-7.
Patten and Heliovaara found themselves facing championship point in the second set, with the score at 6-5. But, the duo held on to force a tiebreak.
The finish to the set prefaced what was to come in an incredible tiebreak, where the unseeded pair clawed their way back from two further championship points and won it 10-8.
The third round of this year’s French Open was the furthest Patten had gone in a Grand Slam prior to this year’s tournament in south west London. But, his performance in the final belied his experience at this stage.
His volley-game was superb throughout and his passing winner on the third championship point in particular, drew one of the loudest cheers of the match from the crowd.
The third set followed the same script as the previous two, with neither pair dropping serve on way to a deciding tiebreak which was a race to 10. After nearly three hours on court, it was Patten who stepped up in the tiebreak as the former Wimbledon statistician and his Finnish partner edged the Australians to win the match, receiving a standing ovation from the Centre Court crowd.
Information from Reuters contributed to this report
