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Heliovaara and Patten make winning start to ATP Finals doubles crown defence

Patten (L) and Heliovaara in action against Luz and Matos in Turin
Patten (L) and Heliovaara in action against Luz and Matos in TurinAlessandro Di Marco / Zuma Press / Profimedia

Finland's Harri Heliovaara and Great Britain's Henry Patten overcame Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos in three sets (6-3, 5-7, 10-4) to get their defence of the doubles title at the ATP Finals in Turin off to winning start.

Heliovaara and Patten have won Wimbledon together for the second time and become joint world number one since triumphing in this tournament last year, and they looked to justify their top seed status by racing into an early lead.

Luz and Matos failed to win a single point in their first service game, gifting the Finn and Brit an early break and a 3-0 lead. The rest of the opening set comfortably went with serve, meaning the reigning champions took it 6-3.

But the eighth seeds showed exactly why they are among the best at the Finals, forcing a loss of serve in game four of set two, and though Heliovaara and Patten broke back immediately, Luz and Matos were able to go again, breaking through in game 12 and give their opponents no chance to reply, winning the set 7-5.

However, the Brazilians were unable to push on in the tiebreak, as the Wimbledon champions forced three losses of serve in the first four attempts, racing into a 7-1 lead. Luz and Matos were unable to properly eat into the lead, which still stood at six points when Heliovaara and Patten secured match point, winning 6-3, 5-7, 10-4.

Later this week, the number one pair will face Marcelo Arevalo & Mate Pavic and Theo Arribage & Albano Olivetti in the group stage. 

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