Henry Patten '19 Wins Second Career Major Championship in Australian Open Men's Doubles Final

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025
Contact: Jake Miller (jmille26@unca.edu)
Henry Patten '19 Wins Second Career Major Championship in Australian Open Men's Doubles Final

MELBOURNE, Australia - UNC Asheville Men's Tennis alum Henry Patten '19 won his second career major championship on Saturday (Jan. 25), winning the Men's Doubles Final at the Australian Open. Patten also advanced to the semifinals in mixed doubles in the tournament.

The No. 6 seed in men's doubles, they dispatched Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli (India)/Ryan Seggerman (USA) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 in the first round before taking down the native Australian duo of Matthew Christopher Romios and Marc Polmans. In the third round, the duo defeated Austin Krajicek/Rajeev Ram (USA) 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) to claim their spot in the quarterfinals. They beat No. 15 Hugo Nys (Monaco)/Eduard Roger-Vasselin (France) 6-3, 7-5 in the quarterfinals, before punching their ticket to the finals defeating No. 4 Kevin Krawietz and Tim Putz of Germany 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7). Facing off against No. 3 Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori of Italy in the finals, the duo dropped the first set 7-6 (18-16) before rallying to win the second set 7-6 (7-5) to force a winner-take-all third. The pair jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third set, before eventually closing out the third set 6-3 with a thunderous ace from Patten to clinch the title.

In mixed doubles, Paten yet again teamed up with fellow Brit Olivia Nicholls. The duo beat Maximo Gonzalez (Argentina) and Giuliana Olmos (Mexico) in the first round 6-4, 6-0 before going on to upset the No. 1 mixed doubles team in the world in the second round. The pair upset Vavassori and Sara Errani of Italy 6-3, 6-4 in the massive upset to claim their spot in the quarterfinal. The duo then defeated Irina Khromacheva (Russia)/Jack Withrow (USA) 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinal, before their tournament run ended in the semifinal with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 loss to John-Patrick Smith and Kimberly Birrell of Australia.

"It's incredible - Henry is now a multiple Grand Slam Champion and everyone in Asheville couldn't be prouder of him," said Bulldog head coach Matt Frost. "He is an amazing ambassador for our program and the conference!"

A 2019 graduate of UNC Asheville, Patten was an Intercollegiate Tennis Association ITA) All-American in doubles and a three-time Big South Conference Player of the Year. He was a four-time Big South Conference First Team All-Conference selection in singles play, and a three-time First Team All-Conference selection in doubles play. He was a seven-time Player of the Week selection, and a two-time Freshman of the Week selection. Patten also made an appearance in the 2019 NCAA Division I national tournament for both singles and doubles. Patten was also an ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2019. He and Olli Nolan also won an Oracle ITA Fall National Championship in 2018.

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Henry Patten '19 Wins Second Career Major Championship in Australian Open Men's Doubles Final

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