
Patten hoping to fly further under radar in Wimbledon title defence
The Essex ace advanced with a 7-6(4) 6-4 victory over British pair Dan Evans and Henry Searle to reach the second round on Wednesday.
Patten entered last year's Championships as an entirely unknown quantity but propelled his profile to new heights with a totally unexpected triumph.
That may have led to greater fanfare ahead of his All England Club return but the rangy left-hander, who also grabbed Australian Open glory back in January, insists he is relishing flying under the radar once again.
'I would say it's felt remarkably similar this year,' he said.
'We've not had much special treatment – we've been over at Raynes Park practicing with the other doubles guys.
'It's business as usual which I think in a way, has helped us.
'If we were flying all over the place and meeting people, doing fancy things then maybe we would have gone out of our routine a little bit.
'I think that suits us – certainly the first day we came in, sitting on terrace where I had fantastic memories last year, it was nice to sit down and reflect on those times and what a great year we're had.
'I sometimes get recognised at airports – but for Harry it's very different as in Finland, he is a superstar.
'What's amazing is wherever we play, the Finnish support is amazing, which is such a great feeling wherever we are on the court.'
Patten and experienced Heliövaara, 35, defied the odds to clinch a heart-thumping Wimbledon crown last summer.
They toppled Australian aces Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in a three-set thriller to capture All England Club hearts on a Saturday night to savour in south-west London.
The dynamic duo followed that up with another memorable triumph in Melbourne and knew they faced a stern test as they commenced their Wimbledon campaign on Wednesday.
But they showed no sign of nerves as they swatted aside West Midlands pair Evans, 35, and Searle, 19, to keep their hopes of emulating last year's exploits alive.
'It's a nice feeling to get that one out of the way,' Patten added.
'For any Slam there's always a bit of anxiety before the first match as there's so much build-up and preparation that goes into it.
'Maybe a little bit extra for this one as we were so eager to get started – to battle that and bring great energy to the court against tricky opponents is a very, very good feeling.'
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