Patten and Heliovaara save 3 match points to win men’s doubles final at Wimbledon

LONDON (AP) — Unseeded Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara saved three match points in the second set before beating Australian duo Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson 6-7 (7), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (11-9) in the men’s doubles final at Wimbledon for their first Grand Slam title on Saturday.

Heliovaara became the first Finnish man to win the Wimbledon doubles and sank to his knees in tears after he and Patten converted their second match point. He then put his head on his partner’s shoulder, still sobbing, as they sat in their chairs and waited for the trophy presentation.

“The tears say it all,” Heliovaara said. “It’s very emotional.”

Patten is the third British man in the professional era to win the men’s doubles at the All England Club, joining Jonathan Marray in 2012 and Neal Skupski last year.

Playing on Centre Court, the duo never had a break point in the match and missed a set point in the first set after coming from 6-1 down in the tiebreaker to lead 7-6. In the second set, they saved a match point at 6-5 and two more in the tiebreaker, where they trailed 5-2 before beginning their turnaround.

In the third-set tiebreaker, the 15th-seeded Thompson and Purcell also led 7-6 but couldn’t close it out.

“Obviously couldn’t have been a closer match,” Patten said. “I can’t really remember what happened to be honest.” ___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis