- Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara won the men’s doubles final at Wimbledon
- They beat Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson 6-7 7-6 7-6 over almost three hours
- Patten is now only the third British winner of this event during the Open Era
Henry Patten became only the third Briton in the Open Era to be crowned a men’s doubles champion at Wimbledon after he and Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara beat Aussie duo Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson on Saturday.
Patten, 28, and Heliovaara defeated Purcell and Thompson 11-9 in a third-set tie-break in front of a captivated Centre Court crowd.
The previous two sets had also been settled by breakers, with the Aussies taking the first 9-7 before Patten and Heliovaara claimed the second 10-8.
Patten and Heliovaara were unseeded at SW19 but knocked out four seeded pairs, including French Open champions Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic in the quarter-finals.
Both players were tearful after the match, especially Heliovaara, who admitted during an on-court interview that he and his partner ‘got a little lucky today’.
Henry Patten (right) and Harri Heliovaara are the 2024 Wimbledon men’s doubles champions
Briton Patten and Finland’s Heliovaara came out on top in an epic final on Saturday evening
Patten pictured celebrating on his knees after he and his partner won Saturday’s epic final
Heliovaara, 35, was in tears moments after the match, which was played on Centre Court
The champions shared a hug before receiving their trophies and giving post-match interviews
Patten then paid tribute to the runners up before claiming the match was still a bit of a blur.
He added: ‘For me the most special thing is to do it in front of so many people that have come over. So many of my family members, my best friends, thank you all.’
Prior to Patten, Neal Skupski in 2023 and Jonathan Marray in 2012 had been the only British players to have won the men’s doubles event at The Championships since Pat Hughes and Raymond Tuckey triumphed together in 1936.
