By Tony Fairbairn, Britwatch Sports at Wimbledon
• Harri Heliovaara/Henry Patten [1] def Marcelo Arevalo/Mate Pavic [6] 7-6(4) 7-6(3)
• Henry Patten has admitted he feels ‘very proud’ after becoming first British man in Open Era to win two men’s doubles titles at Wimbledon.
LONDON, ENGLAND – Henry Patten has said that he would love to become a member of the AELTC after achieving at history by claiming a second men’s doubles title at Wimbledon.
It’s doubles glory once again for Henry Patten! Alongside Harri Heliovaara they claimed both tiebreaks to defeat sixth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic.
The top seeds have been the tiebreak kings having won three consecutive last set tiebreaks before their semi-final and then winning their semi-final in two tiebreaks.
This was set to be another close encounter with there being very little to separate the teams although Pavic’s serve was most under threat in the opening set.
Although the Croatian held his own it was the top seeds who was more proactive and they took the opening set tiebreak 7-4.
In the second set Heliovaara and Patten initially struggled on serve but raised their level when it mattered most.
Heliovaara in particular played some aggressive and proactive tennis to fend off the pressure from the sixth seeds.
The 2024 champions then forced Arevalo and Pavic to Deuce towards the end of the set but couldn’t break through.
Another tiebreak was produced but that was no problem for the top seeds who cruised through it 7-3 and claimed their second Wimbledon title.
After the match Patten said it was emotional to have another moment on Centre Court.
“To have another one of those moments at this tournament, it makes me very, very emotional,” Patten reflectively said in his press conference.
“Makes Harri even more emotional, I think. Yeah, we feel very, very lucky and very proud as well of how we played.”
Meanwhile Heliovaara spoke about how strong they are as a team as they continue their winning success rate at Grand Slams.
“No, it’s what makes us strong. I think we believe in that. With the best team, we create that bubble where it’s just the two of us inside that bubble,” Heliovaara said in the press conference about their partnership.
“We can laugh at each other. We can have some disagreements. We can still trust ourselves, trust each other on the court. I think the most important thing, we can be very honest with each other. You don’t need to protect. There’s no blame. It’s just us.
“It works incredibly well on the tennis court, but it also works incredibly outside the tennis court.”
Patten ‘proud’ of creating history, criticises ATP proposals
It’s a second Wimbledon title for Patten and is the first Brit to win two Wimbledon titles in the men’s doubles in the Open Era.
A ‘proud’ moment for Patten who took time to praise the depth of British doubles.
“Very, very proud. It’s pretty difficult these days to be a British doubles player and do something for the first time,” Patten acknowledged.
“We have such a strong group of players. Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do that without them, to be honest, without the Neal Skupskis,
“Joe Salisburys, Jules, and Lloyd. Jamie, of course, who kind of kicked the whole thing off. Yeah, but it’s obviously, selfishly, I’m quite proud of that. It’s not easy, like I say.
“To be part of British tennis history, yeah, is the stuff of dreams.”
After an incredible day for Patten, the Brit would now love nothing more than to become a member of the All England Club.
After not receiving a membership after his first triumph, Patten is now targeting a membership after his second title.
“Yeah, I’d love one. It seems like quite a nice club. Yeah, I’d love to. If they let me in, I’ll take it. Obviously I now spend a lot of time in the States, North Carolina. I have to say I wouldn’t be here that often, but if they’ll have me, yeah, absolutely,” Patten confirmed.
Off the court, the main headline is the ATP’s proposals to reduce draw sizes and prize money in doubles from 2028.
It’s news that hasn’t gone down well with the majority of doubles players and Patten has expressed his concerns and has said that the evidence is clear from today’s match that doubles still has a place in the sport.
“Yeah, I’ve said it all week, every single round we’ve played, we started on Court 16, 17, something like that. Full crowd. We then played on Court 18, full crowd. Played on Court 2 a couple times, full crowd. Court 1, full crowd. Today, full crowd,” Patten defiantly expressed in his press conference.
“It’s difficult, because it seems like no matter how many times you do that, there’s like this very strong narrative that the product itself just isn’t good enough. I don’t think that’s true. I think we’ve kind of proven that to be wrong. Of course, Wimbledon plays a huge part in that. People come to Wimbledon to watch tennis, whether it’s singles, doubles, wheelchair singles, wheelchair doubles, juniors, exhibition. People come to Wimbledon to watch tennis.
“I feel strongly that doubles can play a strong part in that and can help the ATP Tour grow the game. I think that’s what we should be focused on. No more in-fighting. It doesn’t help anyone. You know, let’s focus on growth and investing in the sport and creating more opportunities for people from different backgrounds. I really care strongly about that.
“I’ve been lucky enough to grow up in a fairly middle class household. Taking away doubles isn’t going to help the poorer kids or the kids who are far away from tennis centers or the kids who can only play twice a week. We should be encouraging people from all different backgrounds to play tennis and feel that they can make a living out of tennis. We should be growing that.”
Patten is continuing to be a big ambassador for doubles and wants to make his voice heard.
The Brit is aiming to set up a meeting with the ATP but hasn’t heard anything back so far.
“We’re hoping to set up some meetings. That’s through the head of player relations at the ATP. I have to go through him. I asked for the contact details of the tournament directors of the ATP,” Patten revealed.
“I’d really like to speak to them, see if they have any ideas, see how doubles players can bring value to them outside of just playing doubles matches, whether that’s ProAms, playing with sponsors, other things. Instead of giving me the contacts, we have talk to the tournament board members, who then have to give us the okay to have the contacts. We haven’t spoken to the player reps or the chairmen or the CEO.
“So I’m optimistic that those meetings will happen with time. A small group of doubles players, hopefully be able to sit down and meet with the higher-ups, as it were. I hope that will happen, but it hasn’t happened yet. We’re trying.”
There are clear frustrations that the ATP hasn’t bothered to market the doubles game.
The Brit ended the topic by coming up with some suggestions to avoid doubles being cut away from the sport.
“I think if you look at, for example, the ATP Tour’s Instagram page on semifinal day, there was no men’s singles matches that day, but there were no posts about doubles. I don’t see why that is,” Patten questioned.
“I don’t know, it’s difficult. I think it really requires a big cultural shift and a change in culture of the ATP, which is obviously a difficult thing to change in any organization. But I just wish they had more of a growth mindset rather than seeing it purely as a pain in the ass, which is what it seems like at the moment.
“It’s really difficult to change that. But I feel optimistic that we will be able to change it.”
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