Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten overcame losing a marathon first set to beat Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori at Australian Open 2025 for a second Grand Slam men’s doubles title together.
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The sixth seeds added to their unlikely Wimbledon 2024 crown – when they were unseeded – by topping the third-seeded Italians 6-7(16) 7-6(5) 6-3 in Saturday’s night session that stretched into Sunday morning in Melbourne.
Their remarkable journey thus continues.
Both were out of the game for a while, as Finland’s Heliovaara, 35, dealt with injuries and other health issues. The 28-year-old Patten from Great Britain didn’t immediately turn pro after attending college in America.
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Now the duo are surging, though few might have seen the final result coming since Bolelli and Vavassori saved 10 set points in an 87-minute opener that felt decisive.
“I know you guys will be back,” said Patten, addressing the Italians during the trophy presentation. “You show such good fight. There shouldn’t have really been a loser of this match. It was amazing.”
Perhaps Heliovaara’s reindeer stew is part of the winning formula.
“We’re such good friends and that’s what keeps us together on the tennis court,” Heliovaara, the junior doubles winner in Melbourne in 2007, said to Patten.
“It was a very tight match, but you guys deserve it, congrats,” said Vavassori during the trophy ceremony. “I think we also deserved this one but sometimes tennis is like this, it’s crazy.”
Yet there was ultimately more heartbreak for Bolelli and Vavassori, who have lost all three of their Grand Slam finals, including at AO 2024 against Matt Ebden and Rohan Bopanna.
Vavassori missed out on his first men’s doubles major, too, while Bolelli, 39, will have to wait for a second one 10 years after his Melbourne triumph with Fabio Fognini.
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There was drama aplenty, even before the first tiebreak, similar to the women’s final when Madison Keys upset Aryna Sabalenka.
A double fault from lefty Patten made it 1-0, with Bolelli and Vavassori subsequently saving break points in three games to build a 5-4 lead.
But with Bolelli serving, Vavassori endured a tough game.
He missed a forehand volley, then was called for a net touch. At 30-all, Vavassori seemingly earned a set point for his team by punching away a simple looking forehand volley.
Heliovaara, though, quickly sought a video review to see if Vavassori made contact with the ball on the other side of the net. He did, as ruled by chair umpire Thomas Sweeney.
Heliovaara and Patten smelled blood, broke for 5-5 and quickly grabbed a 6-5 advantage.
Not only that, but three straight set points came at 0-40 in the ensuing game.
The Italians clung on to reach the tiebreak, only to see a 4-2 lead become a 6-4 deficit.
Heliovaara and Patten couldn’t convert on their own serve, paving the way for a lengthy spell where set points were saved.
However, Heliovaara and Vavassori did benefit from second-serve return chances on those set points – only to lack their desired precision.
The last act saw Bolelli flourish. He drilled a backhand return at Heliovaara for 17-16, then on serve, ripped a forehand down the line.
Not one to show emotions on court, he atypically let out a loud roar.
Heliovaara and Patten, who experienced tiebreak joy in last year’s Wimbledon final against Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson, this time fell on the wrong end.
The second set proved to be more typical of high-class doubles, featuring only one break point, early.
Another tiebreak arrived, and Bolelli benefited from two opportunities with his side up 3-2, unable to convert on both points.
Patten’s ace brought up a set point at 6-5 and Bolelli sent a forehand long to prompt the final set.
Reeling, the Italians dropped serve to trail 2-0 in the third when Heliovaara authored a winning forehand return.
Heliovaara and Patten didn’t face break points in the third set – until the final game. An ace accounted for the first one.
A golden chance came on the second, though, with Bolelli putting his forehand long.
Seconds later, a Heliovaara ace sealed proceedings to prompt a contrast of emotions.
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