Neal Skupski Advances to US Open Men's Doubles Final
Neal Skupski is heading back to a Grand Slam final, and this time New York might just belong to him.
The 36-year-old from Liverpool, alongside American partner Christian Harrison, dismantled top seeds Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara to reach the US Open men’s doubles final, winning 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 in an hour and 23 minutes.
It was sharp, ruthless tennis from the Australian Open champions. They have not dropped a set all fortnight, and against the tournament favourites they refused to blink.
Tight start, ruthless finish
The opening set was a cagey arm wrestle. Both teams held firm on serve, the rallies tight, the margins tiny. Patten and Heliovaara, who had beaten Skupski and Harrison a couple of times already this year, looked settled and confident.
The tie-break changed everything.
Skupski and Harrison attacked the net with intent, took time away from the top seeds and seized the breaker 7-4. Once they had that first set in their pocket, the mood inside the stadium shifted. So did the match.
The pressure finally told early in the second set. Skupski and Harrison broke, then broke again, turning a contest into a procession. Their returns grew braver, their positioning sharper, and the scoreboard raced away from Patten and Heliovaara, who never found a way back.
A 6-2 second set underlined the gulf once momentum swung.
A shot at redemption in New York
For Skupski, this run carries a little extra weight. He is chasing a fifth Grand Slam title and a third in men’s doubles, but Flushing Meadows still stings.
Last year he and Joe Salisbury stood on the brink of the US Open crown, only to let three championship points slip in the final. That kind of loss lingers. It shapes a player.
Now he returns to the same stage with Harrison at his side, already Grand Slam winners together after lifting the Australian Open trophy earlier this year.
“We know these guys [Patten and Heliovaara] pretty well, we've played them a couple of times this year and they've got the better of us but we brought it today, we knew we had to and really looking forward to a final in New York,” Skupski said courtside, the satisfaction evident.
“We're both very hungry. We've worked hard to get here.
“We had success at the start of the year at the Australian Open. We had a great time, we know what it feels like to win a Grand Slam and we're going to leave it all out there on Saturday.”
That hunger has driven their flawless run through the draw. No dropped sets. No dips in intensity. Just a clear, familiar target: one more win, and Skupski finally adds a US Open men’s doubles title to a career that refuses to slow down.
