TIGER RAG NEWS SERVICES
NEW YORK – Neal Skupski captured his maiden U.S. Open Men’s Doubles title with Shreveport native Christian Harrison on Sunday as they defeated No. 6 seed Tim Putz and Kevin Krawietz in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (6).
Skupski, a Liverpool, England, native who played at LSU from 2008-12, is the first LSU tennis alum to win multiple Grand Slam events in a single year.
The match began with each pair trading blows and remained level in the opening stages. Midway through, Skupski and Harrison stole the first break to forge ahead 4-3 before holding serve at 5-3. With a two-game cushion, the duo comfortably served out the set, 6-4, now just one more standing between them and the crown.
Both teams maintained a high level heading into the second set, neither giving much of a chance on their service games. With only one break opportunity in twelve straight games, the set entered a tiebreak. After falling to a 2-0 deficit, Skupski and Harrison fired back to level it at 2-2. From there, both sides continued to even it until the British-American duo had their first match point at 7-6. Harrison confidently served it wide as Skupski put away the match with a volley winner, securing them the championship.
Last January, Skupski and Harrison won their first title together at the Australian Open, only dropping one set. Eight months later, they completed a flawless run, refusing to drop a set as they won 12 straight over six matches.
Skupski and Harrison became the second British-American team in history to win a U.S. Open men’s doubles title in the Open Era. Furthermore, Skupski is now the fifth British player in the Open Era to win the US Open men’s doubles title.
With this win, Skupski jumped up two spots in the ATP rankings to world No. 3, while Harrison made a major eight-spot leap. Along with the title and rankings update, the team will split a $1 million purse to cap off their impressive run.
For the latest updates on the LSU Men’s Tennis program, follow @LSUTennis on Instagram, Facebook, and X.
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