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    Wimbledon: Heliovaara and Patten win men's double title in nail-biting finale

    Earlier, Heliovaara worked at Helsinki Airport as a passenger guide while Patten was a statistician in the 2016 and 2017 championships. They teamed up for the first time in April.

    Wimbledon: Heliovaara and Patten win mens double title in nail-biting finale
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    Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten

    LONDON: Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten won one of the most dramatic Wimbledon doubles finals in history when they saved three championship points to defeat Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson.

    In a contest of the finest of margins, Heliovaara and Patten required a hard-fought two hours and 49 minutes to record their 6-7(7), 7-6(8), 7-6 (11-9) win.

    Purcell and Thompson were the fourth seeded team they defeated in their giant-killing run.

    Heliovaara stopped playing tennis 11 years ago due to injury. He then earned a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree from Aalton University in a bit less than four years and worked at Helsinki Airport at 5 am each morning to serve as a passenger guide. He made his comeback in 2017 and has since won seven tour-level doubles titles.

    The 28-year-old Patten, who worked as a statistician at the 2016 and 2017 Championships, combined with Heliovaara to claim the 2024 gentleman’s doubles title.

    He becomes only the third British man of the Open era – alongside Jonathan Marray in 2012 and Neal Skupski in 2023 – to lift the trophy. The 35-year-old Heliovaara is the first Finnish man in history to win the title.

    Heliovaara and Patten teamed up for the first time in April and quickly gelled as a partnership; taking in ATP title runs at Marrakech and Lyon, they entered Saturday's final with wins in 28 of the 32 matches they’d played.

    IANS
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