Britain’s Skupski wins ‘great’ doubles title at the Australian Open with new partner Harrison

Neal Skupski continued Great Britain’s impressive recent record in men’s doubles by winning the Australian Open title alongside American Christian Harrison. The newly formed duo, playing only their second tournament together, defeated Australian wildcard duo Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans 7-6 (4), 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena.

It is the third time in the past five Grand Slam tournaments that there has been at least one British winner, with Henry Patten lifting the trophy alongside Finn Harri Heliovaara last year before the duo of Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool triumphed at Wimbledon.

Skupski and his former partner Joe Salisbury, meanwhile, reached the finals of both the French Open and US Open, falling just short both times. The latter revealed at the end of the season that he was taking a break from the sport due to anxiety, and mutual friends brought Skupski and Harrison together.

They could not have imagined how quickly slam success would come, and they were fully deserving winners of the title, with a Harrison ace taking victory on their third match point.

It is Skupski’s second Grand Slam men’s doubles title after winning the 2023 Wimbledon crown with Dutchman Wesley Koolhof, while he also has two mixed doubles titles to his name at the All England Club, but this represents his first major success away from home soil.

“Of course it’s nice to win another grand slam,” Skupski said. “Last year I was very close at the US Open and narrowly lost in the French. Christian has given me a new lease of life this year. We are very happy. We are so excited for the year ahead. There are still things we can work on, but this is definitely a great start.”

Earlier, Elise Mertens marked her return to the No. 1 ranking in women’s doubles by winning the Australian Open title alongside China’s Zhang Shuai. After four years apart as a team, Mertens and Zhang trailed 3-0 and 4-1 in the first set but rallied to beat Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan and Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic 7-6 (4), 6-4. Mertens and Zhang led the final set 5-0 before sustaining a comeback attempt as Danilina and Krunic won four games in a row.

The win was Mertens’ sixth grand slam doubles title, including 2021 and 2024 at Melbourne Park. Zhang now has three, including the 2019 Australian Open and the 2021 US Open. It was their first grand slam trophy as a team, having lost the 2022 Wimbledon final in their last appearance together.

“This is the icing on the cake,” said Mertens. “We formed a team at the very last minute… this was our first tournament together again. In the second round we saved three match points, so that took us to another level. An incredible two weeks.”