Sept 12 (Reuters) – Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski beat Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-4 7-6(6) on Saturday to win the U.S. Open men’s doubles title.
The reigning Australian Open champions took the first set after Harrison struck a two-handed backhand return winner to break for a 4-3 lead. The American-British duo held serve the rest of the way to take the set 6-4.
Their German opponents fought back in the second set and moved 3-2 ahead but Harrison and Skupski responded with a love hold to level at 3-3.
The 2024 runners-up went up 4-3 and later 5-4 after saving a set point, but Harrison and Skupski stayed in contention. Harrison, serving with the sun in his eyes, held in a five-point game to force a tiebreak.
Puetz gave the Germans a 4-3 lead in the breaker with a volley but Harrison and Skupski recovered. Skupski sealed the victory with a return that forced Krawietz into an error, giving the pair their second Grand Slam doubles title of the year.
The victory was a moment of redemption for Skupski, who finished runner-up with Dutchman Wesley Koolhof in 2022. He suffered a second defeat in last year’s final alongside fellow Briton Joe Salisbury.
Salisbury later took a break from tennis because of anxiety, and Skupski began the 2026 season with Harrison.
The pair had known each other for years and had lost in the first round of a Futures event together in England in 2013.
Their partnership produced immediate results when they clinched the Australian Open in January.
“It’s been obviously an amazing couple of weeks for us,” Skupski told reporters. “It’s just total focus throughout the match, believing in each other, looking at our team, trying to give us as much energy as possible.”
“When we play with energy and belief, we’re a very dangerous team. We both believe in each other’s games. I feel like we complement each other very well on the court,” the 36-year-old player added.
For Harrison, 32, the home victory carried particular significance after an injury-hit career in which he underwent eight bouts of surgery and spent years trying to return to the top level.
“Of course, there’s always a little bit of doubt, especially as you’re getting older and you realise your body is not recovering the same, but I never lost my joy for playing.”
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Clare Fallon)
