Harrison, Skupski win Australian Open doubles title in first major together

Harrison, Skupski win Australian Open doubles title in first major together

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.

Christian Harrison (left) of the US and Neal Skupski (right) of Great Britain pose with the winners’ trophy after winning the men’s doubles at the Australian Open. (EPA Images pic)
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 today 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.

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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