Andrea Vavassori (left) and Simone Bolelli lost in the Australian Open final. © APA/afp / DAVID GRAY

Italian tennis doubles lose the final

Italy's most famous tennis doubles team, Simone Bolelli and Alessandro Vavassori, played in the final of the Australian Open on Saturday. However, it did not end well for the Azzurri.

25 January 2025

From: mv

Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori are Italy's most famous tennis doubles team. The two, who are ranked third in the doubles world rankings, made it to the final of the Australian Open, just like last year. There they faced the Finns Harri Heliövaara and Henry Patten (ATP 6) on Saturday. Despite a strong first set, Bolelli/Vavassori lost 7:6, 6:7 and 3:6.

The first set was already a tough one: after an immediate break by the Azzurri, the service games were each successfully completed before the Finns also managed a break to make it 5:5. Heliövaara/Patten then had the chance to win the first set at 6:5, but they missed three set balls. It then went into a tiebreak, which turned out to be a tough nut to crack. After missing several set balls, Bolelli/Vavassori took the first set at 18:16.

This is what winners look like: Henry Patten (left) and Harri Heliövaara. © APA/afp / WILLIAM WEST

The second set also went into a tiebreak, but this time the Finns had the better end of it and were able to equalize at 1:1 (7:5 in the tiebreak of the second set). The decision had to be made in the third set, where the Northern Europeans seemed fresher and soon - thanks to a break - took a 3:0 lead. The Azzurri were unable to make up this deficit, and in the end the Finns took the trophy with a 6:3 set win.

Sinner plays on Sunday

Another Azzurro is still fighting for the tournament victory in Melbourne: South Tyrolean tennis ace Jannik Sinner. The Sextner has to play against the German Alexander Zverev tomorrow, Sunday. The match starts at 9.30 a.m., SportNews ticker live.