Henry Patten hopes to follow in the footsteps of his local Ipswich Town’s success and continue his ‘surreal’ run at Wimbledon.
The Manningtree tennis star, 28, safely navigated his way to the men’s doubles last 32 on Friday with another straight sets triumph alongside Finnish partner Harri Heliövaara.
The duo toppled Spaniards Pedro Martínez and Jaume Munar on Court 9 as Patten, the current world No.43, followed up his first ever win in SW19 with another 48 hours later.
The Essex ace loved following the Tractor Boys’ unexpected promotion to the Premier League last season and now wants to emulate their exploits as he bids to book his place in the last 16.
“It’s been great this week – we’re in the third round at Wimbledon, which is surreal,” he said.
“We’re very pleased with how it’s progressing and these are the best results of my career.
“Harri is a very experienced guy and I’m trying to learn a lot from him – to go on this mission with him is very pleasing.
“Ipswich are my team – it was Ipswich or Colchester and I’ve been Ipswich forever, so it’s great to see them do well!”
Patten and Heliövaara, 35, joined forces earlier this year and clinched silverware in their first ever tournament together in Marrakech.
They stunned fifth seeds Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli in the first round on Wednesday before clicking once again to keep their All England Club dream alive.
Patten is just four games from glory but insists he isn’t getting carried away ahead of his third round showdown this weekend.
“It’s one match at a time of course,” he added.
“There are no easy matches at Slams and this is unchartered territory for me.
“We put high expectations and pressure upon ourselves to perform every match, but we’re absolutely focused on one match at a time.”
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