Briton Henry Patten and his Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara fell to a straight-sets defeat in the French Open men’s doubles final, although they will still be crowned joint world No 1 for the first time in Monday’s updated rankings.
The second seeds were bidding for their third major title together and to go one step closer to completing the career grand slam, after winning Wimbledon in 2024 and the Australian Open last season.
They made serene progress through the draw and did not drop a set en route, sealing a place in their first French Open final on Heliovaara’s 37th birthday.
But they were distinctly second best in Saturday’s final, losing to top seeds and defending champions Marcel Granollers of Spain and Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos 6-4 6-2. It made for their third grand slam title together, after the French Open and the US Open last year.
British pair Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski lost last year’s men’s doubles final on Court Philippe-Chatrier, meaning Fred Perry and Pat Hughes’ record as the last British men to win the Roland-Garros title, in 1933, still stands.
Patten said: “It was a disappointing match. In doubles, if you're a little bit off your game, then you can get exposed, particularly on clay. It was incredibly slow out there. They are obviously right at home on the clay courts. They deserved it, they played amazingly, and we were just a little bit off the ball, which can happen.”
The pair had never before gone beyond the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros and are more suited to faster courts, with Patten adding: “Disappointing result today, but I think we can leave with our heads held high.”
It was a match dominated by poor serving, with three breaks of serve in the first set, while Patten and Heliovaara failed to hold serve in the second until 5-1 down.
The top seeds broke early in the first set and again immediately in the second, then again for a 3-0 lead. Patten and Heliovaara pulled a break straight back as the Brit smashed away a second serve return, but immediately conceded serve again.
Granollers and Zeballos raced through a service hold to love to immediately put the pressure back on their opponents as they served to stay in the championships at 5-1 down.
Better serving from Heliovaara and a deft slice net volley, with the ball simply dying on the clay, helped them improve their deficit.
But Granollers was superb on serve when it mattered and his powerful groundstrokes proved too much for Patten and Heliovaara, with the Brit thwacking the ball of the frame of his racquet and into the crowd to concede the match.
Nonetheless Heliovaara and Patten will be elevated to the top ranking on Monday, while British men’s doubles is in something of a golden age.
Patten and Finland’s Heliovaara won the ATP Finals title late last year, beating Skupski and Salisbury in the final, while five Brits made the semi-finals and the year-end world No 1s were another British pair, Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.
There was further British disappointment later on as second seed Alfie Hewett lost the wheelchair singles’ final 6-3 6-3 to generational talent and top seed Tokito Oda.
Hewett had won the doubles trophy alongside partner Gordon Reid for the seventh year in a row yesterday but was unable to back that up in the singles, losing to Oda for the second successive year.
20-year-old Oda, of Japan, has now won four straight Roland-Garros titles and eight of the last 11 grand slams, and appears to have Hewett’s number, having beaten him in five of the last seven major finals they have contested.
Second seed Hewett raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set but then lost the next six games as he was unable to add a fourth French Open singles title to his collection.
He said: “Congratulations Tokito and your team, I'm not sure how many years you have won this in a row but it seems to feel like forever. It's obviously nice to be back in the final here but I am gutted with the performance, it's definitely not one I am proud of.”
