Resurgent Heliovaara/Patten crush Koolhof/Mektic dream in Turin

Wimbledon champions Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten had little time for sentiment on Thursday at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The seventh seeds produced an inspired comeback over 2020 champions Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic to eliminate them from the season finale. Heliovaara and Patten, who prevailed 4-6, 6-3, 12-10, maintained their perfect 3-0 start to their team debut in Turin and ensured that they finished top of the Mike Bryan Group.

“Pleased is an understatement, three wins in the group stage is exactly what we wanted,” said Heliovaara. “But, of course, you have to play pretty well to achieve that. In the Match Tie-break today, we said to each other ‘This is great tennis, let’s enjoy it’. Even if we lost a point here or there, it was great to be a part of that [battle].”

Mike Bryan Group WINNERS ☝️?

No. 3 seeds Harri Heliovaara & Henry Patten round off group play undefeated!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/S11ciYeBuI

Koolhof, determined to stay alive in the final ATP Tour event of his career, rallied with Mektic from 5/8 to level the Match Tie-break and ignite hopes of a revival. Heliovaara and Patten, however, locked back in to seal a one-hour, 31-minute victory and assert their dominance heading into the knockout stages.

“I didn’t think I was going to end my career like that, obviously mixed emotions,” said Koolhof, who has won 21 tour-level titles. “It’s been a pleasure to play on the Tour for the past 20 years, so thank you all for taking the time to come out here. Thank you, of course, to Mekta for playing with me in my final year. It’s been a dream to finish my career in Turin at the Nitto ATP Finals, so I am very grateful and happy to do it here, even though we didn’t make it today.”

The final match in the Mike Bryan Group will decide who joins the Finnish-British duo in the last four. Australians Max Purcell/Jordan Thompson will qualify if they defeat second seeds Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos, regardless of the score. If the Spanish-Argentine duo seal victory in straight sets, they will book their ticket for the semi-finals for a second consecutive year. 

Koolhof and Mektic’s intensity inside the Inalpi Arena was palpable from the outset. They dismantled Patten’s serve in the opening game and did not look back in an assured opening set, during which they won 16 out of 17 points behind their first deliveries, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

The momentum began to shift in the second set, however, as the seventh seeds began to find their range on return. Heliovaara and Patten displayed the tennis that has driven them to success this year, and were in no mood to roll over. They carried their form into the Match Tie-break, where they avoided a late wobble to move 2-1 ahead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

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