Patten braced for late start in 'scary' Melbourne final

Henry Patten became a professional after playing collegiate tennis in the United States

British tennis player Henry Patten says playing in a second Grand Slam final in the space of six months is "a little bit scary".

Patten and Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara, the reigning Wimbledon champions, will take on third seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori at the Australian Open on Saturday.

And they will have plenty of waiting to do beforehand as the match follows the women's singles final between Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys, and has been given an estimated start time of 22:00 in the evening (11:00 GMT) at the Rod Laver Arena.

"It's going to be an interesting one. I'm not sure I've ever played a match that's going to start as late as that," Patten told BBC Essex.

"I hope I'm not going to wake up too early, buzzing already, because there's going to be a lot of down time and anxious waiting before we get to go on court. But we've done it plenty of times before and hopefully it'll all go to plan."

Patten and Heliovaara, who only teamed up nine months ago, defeated Germany's Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-4 3-6 7-6 (10-7) to reach the final in Melbourne.

The 28-year-old from Manningtree in Essex also reached the mixed doubles semi-finals with Olivia Nicholls, so practice time is likely to be kept short as they look to kill time before going on court against Bolelli and Vavasorri.

"We played our semi-final yesterday (Thursday), it was a long match and I pulled up a little bit sore after that, both physically and mentally. We've played a lot of tennis so I don't feel I have to play too much more," he added.

"We have a lot of free time as tennis players so definitely (watch) movies, definitely (listen to) music, I like to play a bit of chess here and there, read books, also some professional stuff, looking after the body like I mentioned, has to go on."

'Doubles pairings don't always get along off court'

Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten celebrate victory in their Melbourne semi-final

Patten and Heliovaara won their first tournament in Marrakech after deciding to play doubles together but were unseeded at Wimbledon and their epic 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (11-9) victory against Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in last summer's final surprised even themselves.

"It feels like Wimbledon was yesterday, that was such a big thing for me obviously and shot us up the rankings," said Patten.

"To be in another Grand Slam final within six months is a little bit scary but I'm trying my best to stay in the present and keep focused on the match.

"I don't think anyone can quite believe it's happened so quickly. I've been playing professional tennis for four, five years now and at the start especially, it's absolutely brutal. There's no money and you're travelling to crazy places."

Developing a successful doubles pairing usually takes time and Patten said there was an initial "awkward stage" in his professional relationship with Heliovaara.

He added: "You've got to be careful about how much time you spend together. But we seem to get along really well on and off the court which is a blessing and isn't the case in all doubles pairings.

"I count myself lucky but definitely some personal space and privacy is needed at times. Off the court we're quite similar, we're both quite laid-back, have quite a dry sense of humour which as a Brit is pretty normal but as a Finn that's definitelty quite a unique quality that Harry has.

"On the court we're very very different; we were joking that every time we win a match the camera instantly cuts to him because he'll bring out some crazy celebration; he gets really pumped up. I'm a little calmer on court but it seems to work."

Henry Patten was speaking to BBC Essex's Sonia Watson