Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara tasted victory on Sunday at the Nitto ATP Finals, where the sixth seeds opened their debut campaign at the season finale with a 7-5, 7-6(3) triumph against Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer.
The British-Finnish pair produced a high-class serving performance to seal victory at the Pala Alpitour in Turin, firing 11 aces and winning 83 per cent (39/47) of points behind first serve against the reigning Roland Garros champions.
After saving two break points to keep parity at 2-2 early, Glasspool and Heliovaara clinched a decisive break at 6-5 to seal the first set. With little to separate the two teams in the second set, Glasspool and then Heliovaara fired stunning returns on consecutive points to open a 4/1 lead in the tie-break. The debutants did not let slip their advantage, as they dropped just two more points to wrap a a 91-minute triumph.
Heliovaara let out a jumping roar of delight as he and Glasspool notched their maiden Nitto ATP Finals victory, just less than two years after they first teamed at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Portugal.
The pair’s win also avenged their straight-sets defeats to Arevalo and Rojer in both the Dallas and Stockholm finals this season. Despite those disappointments, the sixth seeds have enjoyed a consistent year on Tour, highlighted by winning their maiden ATP 500 title in Hamburg in July.
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