Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara bounced back after losing a tough first set to win the Australian Open men’s doubles title, 6-7 (16), 7-6 (5), 6-3, against the Italian team of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
The Italians had a point taken away while serving for the first set on Saturday due to a fault. Chair umpire Thomas Sweeney called a violation on Vavassori in the 10th game because his racket crossed the net as he hit a volley that he thought would give them the set.
Patten and Heliovaara were given the point and broke back to level the set at 5-5, but they failed to convert three set points in the 12th game and seven in a 24-minute, 34-point tiebreaker.
They came back strong to win the next two sets and add the Australian Open title to their Wimbledon victory.
The first set lasted 87 minutes and was full of drama. Sweeney’s decision disrupted Vavassori and Bolelli for a bit, but the Italians saved 10 set points before eventually winning on the sixth, with Bolelli hitting a forehand winner to seal the tiebreaker.
Bolelli, who won the 2015 Australian Open doubles with Fabio Fognini, was hoping to become part of only the third Italian men’s doubles team to win a Grand Slam title.
Bolelli and Vavassori had lost last year’s Melbourne Park final to India’s Rohan Bopanna and Australia’s Matthew Ebden, and they had also been defeated in the French Open final.
The Italian duo was aiming to make it a big weekend for Italian tennis, with top-ranked Jannik Sinner trying to defend his singles title against No. 2 Alexander Zverev on Sunday.
“Tough final — one of the best I’ve played,” Bolelli said during the ceremony, which went past 2 a.m. local time. “We tried this year, another final. We played a really good tournament. We didn’t get the trophy, but we’re going to come back next year and try again.”
Patten thanked Heliovaara, who won the 2007 Australian Open boys’ doubles title, for his part in securing another Grand Slam win, and he thanked the crowd for keeping them motivated.
“Bloody hell, what an evening! Thanks to everyone who stayed,” Patten said to the crowd at Rod Laver Arena in the early hours of Sunday. “You guys are a little bit crazy, but I love you for it.”
