WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Neal Skupski became the second British player in the Open era to win the men's doubles title at Wimbledon after teaming up with Wesley Koolhof on Saturday to beat Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
It's a first Grand Slam title for both Skupski and Koolhof, who lost in last year's U.S. Open final.
“To hold this beauty is very, very special,” said Koolhof, who is from the Netherlands, as he cradled the trophy on Centre Court.
The top-seeded pair only faced one break point in the final, which they saved, and broke for a decisive 3-2 lead in the second set.
Skupski joined Jonathan Marray as the only British players to win the men's doubles title at Wimbledon in the professional era, which began in 1968. Marray did so in 2012.
“This feeling at the moment, doesn’t get better,” Skupski said.
He is also the first British man to win both the mixed doubles and men's doubles at the All England Club since Leslie Godfree in 1926. Skupski has two mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon together with Desirae Krawczyk, in 2021 and 2022.
Granollers and Zeballos were playing in their third Grand Slam final as a pairing after losing the title match at the U.S. Open in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021.
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports