Harrison and Skupski win Australian Open doubles title in first major together
- They forced a tense tiebreak, which the British-American pair narrowly clinched with a powerful overhead smash from Skupski
MELBOURNE: Sixth seeds Neal Skupski and Christian Harrison beat Australia’s Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans 7-6(4) 6-4 to win the Australian Open men’s doubles title on Saturday as the British-American duo first Grand Slam event as a team.
The victory in front of raucous Australian fans gave Harrison his first Grand Slam title. It was a fourth in doubles and mixed doubles for Skupski but his first outside Wimbledon.
With the roof closed at Rod Laver Arena due to rain, the match began at a rapid pace, with Harrison and Skupski taking an early 4-2 lead before Kubler and Polmans rallied with strong support from the home crowd to level the set.
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They forced a tense tiebreak, which the British-American pair narrowly clinched with a powerful overhead smash from Skupski.
In the second set, Harrison and Skupski broke early and maintained their advantage despite a determined fightback from the Australian duo.
Despite seeing two championship points saved by the determined Australian duo, the British-American duo ultimately secured the title on their third match point when Harrison delivered a decisive ace down the middle.
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