Patten, Heliovaara overcome tough first set to claim Australian Open doubles

Vegas Tennis Team
3 Min Read

MELBOURNE, Australia — In a thrilling showdown, Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara overcame a disputed first set to capture the prestigious Australian Open men’s doubles title, triumphing with a scoreline of 6-7 (16), 7-6 (5), 6-3 against the Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.

The match took an intriguing turn when the Italians had a pivotal point overturned while serving for the first set. Chair umpire Thomas Sweeney halted play to penalize Vavassori for a net violation as he delivered a volley that he believed would secure the set point.

With the correction, Heliovaara and Patten seized the momentum, breaking to level the set at 5-5. However, despite displaying their grit, they failed to convert three set points in the 12th game and endured a grueling 24-minute tiebreaker before ultimately falling short.

Displaying resilience, they roared back to clinch the following two sets, adding the Australian Open crown to their previous Wimbledon victory.

The first set extended over a tense 87 minutes, marked by contentious moments. Sweeney’s decisive call appeared to unsettle Vavassori and Bolelli for a spell, but they rallied impressively, saving 10 set points before Bolelli sealed the tiebreak with a stunning forehand winner.

Bolelli, a former Australian Open doubles champion alongside Fabio Fognini in 2015, sought to become part of an exclusive Italian men’s doubles trio to conquer a Grand Slam.

After falling to India’s Rohan Bopanna and Australia’s Matthew Ebden in last year’s final, and facing defeat at the French Open, Bolelli and Vavassori were eager to rewrite their narrative this year.

The duo aimed to inspire a successful weekend for Italian tennis, with top player Jannik Sinner poised to defend his singles title against No. 2 Alexander Zverev on Sunday.

“It was a tough final — one of my best matches,” Bolelli reflected as the presentation ceremony wore on past 2 a.m. on Sunday. “We fought valiantly this year; another final, another great tournament. Though we didn’t hoist the trophy this time, we’ll be back next year to give it another go.”

Patten praised Heliovaara, a 2007 Australian Open boys doubles champion, for his crucial role in their Grand Slam success and acknowledged the enthusiastic crowd for their unwavering support.

“What an unbelievable evening! Huge thanks to everyone who stuck around,” he exclaimed to the Rod Laver Arena audience in the early hours of Sunday. “You folks are a bit wild, but that’s what makes this so special!”

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