Tennis|The Finnish tennis star was positively surprised by his playing condition.
Tennis Finnish player in the doubles of the ATP tournament in Cincinnati, USA Harri Heliövaara and his partner Henry Patten won their opening round match on Wednesday.
The Finnish-British pair defeated their 1st round opponent, the United States Brandon Nakashima and of William Woodall straight in two sets (6–4, 6–3).
Heliövaara was in a good mood after the match.
“Of course, it’s always nice to get on the field, and what’s even better when you still win. Yes, that’s why we come here, to make it far in the games”, Heliövaara said.
The game was Heliövaara’s first since he and Patten butted heads at the Montreal ATP tournament last week, leaving the Finn with a concussion.
According to Heliövaara, the preparation for the tournament has been unusual due to the head injury that affected the background. Until a few days ago, it was uncertain whether the man would even be able to play in the tournament.
“We worked hard with the doctors. “Several times a day, we analyzed the situation and went over how much we dare to train,” said the Finn.
He said he was positively surprised by how well he was able to play.
Game conditions It was warm in Cincinnati, but Heliövaara did not find the heat a problem. He says that the conditions affect the behavior of the ball.
“The conditions are really fast. The ball flies through the air – at least it somehow feels like it – really fast and, for example, bounces high. A little different from what you are used to in Finland in summer or especially in winter in an indoor hall.”
Heliövaara and Patten are ranked seventh in the tournament in Cincinnati. In the next round, the pair will face the Netherlands by Wesley Koolhof and Croatia by Nikola Mektic. The Finn describes the future opponent as tough.
“Both of them have been number one in the world in the last couple of years, so they know how to play tennis quite well.”
The opponents have the advantage that they already played their opening match on Monday. However, Heliövaara believes that fast conditions will turn in favor of the Finnish-British couple.
“They have fresh legs, a few days in between. It will be a tight match, but I trust us.”
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