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Patten and Heliovaara reach first French Open final

Britain's Henry Patten and Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara moved a step closer to their first French Open men's doubles trophy together as they booked their place in Saturday's final.

The pair are yet to drop a set in Paris and continued their perfect run with a 6-3 6-4 win against French duo Quentin Halys and Pierre-Hugues Herbert to reach their first Roland Garros final.

Victory means they are now guaranteed to secure the number one spot as a pairing in the world rankings.

"It means a lot to us," said Patten. "I wish it meant more to the wider tennis world, but to us it's everything that we work towards.

"I join a long list of other Brits who have also done it, so it's amazing to now be in their company and join them as an ATP world number one. It's an incredible achievement for me."

They will face either top seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Argentina's Horacio Zeballos or Italian fifth seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori for the title.

Patten will become the first British men's doubles champion at the French Open in the Open era if they win on Court Philippe Chatrier on Saturday.

Heliovaara, who was celebrating his 37th birthday on Thursday, said it was a "pretty good day".

"It's not a bad birthday if you've started on Suzanne-Lenglen Court and enjoy playing tennis. That's what I love the most in life outside of family time," he added.

Patten and Heliovaara are chasing a third Grand Slam title together - and their first on clay - after their triumphs at Wimbledon in 2024 and the Australian Open in 2025.

The duo have already won four ATP Tour titles this season, including their first Masters 1000 title on clay at last month's Madrid Open.

In the mixed doubles final, Italian top seeds Sara Errani and Vavassori successfully defended their French Open title and won their fourth Grand Slam trophy together with a 4-6 6-3 10-4 win over Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and American Evan King.

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