Henry Patten completed a remarkable Wimbledon run by becoming the first British winner of the 2024 championships with men’s doubles success alongside his Finnish partner, Harri Heliövaara.
Patten and Heliövaara had only teamed up in April, but dumped out a succession of seeds on the way to a maiden grand slam final together. Up against the Australian pair Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson, Patten and Heliövaara saved three championship points in the second set before they sealed a superb 6-7 (7), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (9) victory in front of a jubilant Centre Court crowd.
It made Patten only the third British player to win the men’s doubles Wimbledon title in the Open era after Neal Skupski and Jonathan Marray.
“Obviously couldn’t have been a closer match and I can’t really remember what happened to be honest,” Patten reflected. “For me the most special thing is to do it in front of so many people who have come over, my best friends, my family. Thank you all.”
Patten’s only previous playing appearance at Wimbledon had resulted in a first-round exit alongside Julian Cash two years ago, but he had lasted the whole fortnight in 2016 and 2017, when he worked for IBM totting up statistics on the outside courts.
A solid first game would have eased the nerves of the British player but Thompson and Purcell followed it up with a comfortable hold to love. It was a sign of things to come with the Australian duo not losing a point on serve until their fifth service game.
With no break points created, the opener went to a thrill-a-minute tie-break and Patten and Heliövaara rallied from 6-1 down to win six points in a row. Patten’s rapid reactions to make a volley was the highlight for a pumped up crowd, but Thompson sent down an ace before Heliövaara pulled his forehand wide to hand the 15th seeds the first set.
Set two followed a similar pattern and, even when Purcell double-faulted to go 15-30 down in the fifth game, Thompson bailed his partner out with a crucial winner at the net. Deuce occurred on Patten’s serve in the next game but a 121mph service winner kept the set on serve.
Another tie-break appeared on the cards only for Thompson and Purcell to fight back from 30-0 down to earn championship point when Patten sent his volley wide. The Ipswich-supporting left-hander responded to various chants of encouragement with two brilliant winners at the net to earn a crucial hold before the tie-break produced more drama.
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A brilliant lob by Thompson put them 5-2 up and a second championship point arrived soon after, but Heliövaara saved it before Purcell slammed his forehand into the net on the third. As the sun started to shine on Centre Court, a fine Heliövaara forehand pass earned set point, which was sealed with Patten’s 119mph service winner to spark an eruption of cheers from a nearly full crowd.
Set three was momentarily interrupted by a butterfly but, after a ball girl helped get rid of the intruder, Patten and Heliövaara had trouble of their own during game seven when Purcell and Thompson fashioned two rare break points. Heliövaara produced his best with back-to-back service winners for a big hold, which forced a match tie-break.
A blistering forehand by Patten put them 5-4 up, but when the Australian pair won four of the next five points, the Briton looked set for heartbreak. However, the new team dug deep to get the match tie-break back on serve and, after their first championship point was saved, Thompson sent his return into the net to spark emotional scenes as Patten and Heliövaara collapsed to the grass in disbelief.
