The coach of Harri Heliövaara, who plays tennis all his life, believes that the Finn is just getting up to speed: “big wins are still possible”

A Finnish-British couple Harri Heliövaara–Lloyd Glasspool won the first ATP 500 tournament of his career on the mass court in Hamburg on Sunday. They overthrew India in the final Rohan Bopannan and the Netherlands by Matwe Middelkoop directly in two installments.

With the victory, Heliövaara rises to number 25 in the doubles ranking. It is the best ranking position of his career. Glasspool rises to 34th place.

Heliövaara’s coach Boris Chernovin according to Heliövaara and Glasspool are just getting up to speed.

– Winning the Hamburg tournament is a great thing, but I would say that there will be more good results and victories in the future. They are a top couple. Let’s let the boys play as much as possible.

Chernov reminds that the pair is clearly younger than the average doubles pair. Heliövaara is 33 years old and Glasspool is 28. The top pair in the doubles Rajeev Ram is 38 years old. The average age of the top ten players in doubles is 33.9 years. The reading of the Finnish-British couple is 30.5.

– Harri is of average age at the top 10 level and Lloyd is really young. Big wins may still be possible.

According to Chernov, Heliövaara has benefited from the investment of his partner’s tennis association.

– The help of the British Federation is huge. Heliövaara gets to train in top conditions and gets feedback from the best coaches.

One such coach is Louis Cayer, who is considered one of the best doubles coaches in the world. He has won more than 20 Grand Slams as a coach and coached many world number one players.

However, resources alone will not get you far. Chernov reminds that Heliövaara has worked a lot to get to the top after ending his career already once in 2013.

In June, Heliövaara and Glasspool reached the finals of the London ATP 250 tournament on the grass court. According to Boris Chernov, the duo’s game works on every platform because they both have a background in singles.

– The level of both singles is relatively high in terms of doubles. Harri has been at his best among the 200 and Lloyd among the 300. The knowledge and skills of the game are very high. In my opinion, adapting to the platforms requires versatile game skills, which both have.

Both Heliövaara and Glasspool feed and return well.

– If you start the point well, regardless of the platform, and you have enough skill, the game goes.

The duo’s smooth play together also stems from good chemistry. Heliövaara and Glasspool, who started cooperation in 2020, have been playing together since the ATP challenger tour.

– They have experienced good and bad moments and have been together for many weeks. As people, they fit each other really well. They have great chemistry both on and off the court. Both players are humble and encourage each other a lot.

Chernov considers Heliövaara’s and Glasspool’s chances of reaching the ATP final tournament in Turin in November to be good. The eight couples with the most ranking points this year can enter the doubles. With Sunday’s win, Heliövaara and Glasspool move up to seventh on the list.

– Getting to the final tournament is completely possible. I see no reason not to play there. They have beaten the world number one twice this year.

World number one pair Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury has bowed this year to Heliövaara and Glasspool in the Rome Masters tournament and the London ATP 500 tournament.

Chernov reminds that the competition to get to the final tournament is very tough. Playing in Turin requires good performances in the Masters tournaments and the US Open.

– In terms of level, Heliövaara and Glasspool definitely deserve a place.

Heliövaara and Glasspool paid Hamburg a total of 108,770 euros for their win. In comparison, the singles winner Lorenzo Musetti received 333,125 euros. The women’s WTA tournament singles win in Hamburg received 26,770 euros and the doubles championship 9,680 euros.

At the lower ATP 250 level, the prize amounts are smaller. Last year, the Finnish-British couple received 25,530 euros for winning the Moscow ATP 250 tournament and 9,790 euros for the Marseille ATP 250 tournament.