Earlier this year, Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski came close to winning their first big title as a team. In the final of Roland Garros against Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, the British came from a first set of Bagel to push the old partners deep into a decisive set, but is just falling short of Paris Glory.
“We were very close. It was a bit of a strange game. We were killed in the first set. I could easily have run away from us. I think we have managed to stay in the second set and turn it around,” Salisbury said. “It was also a very, very tight third set. And I think we were coming from the field, it was clearly apart to lose the final, but we were proud of how we fought and I think we did everything we could, sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.”
Now Salisbury and Skupski, who are competing for the first time as a full -time team this season, have a chance of revenge. The sixth seeds take on Granollers and Zeballos again for the trophy at the last major of the season.
‘[The] In recent months we have had a great run, we have had many good results, but we still have to get over the line and get a title this year, so that is clearly an extra motivation, “Salisbury said.” Whatever happens on Saturday, it has still been a very good tournament for us. But we really want to get over that line and get that title that Grand Slam get together. ”
The British have been a model of consistency in recent months and reached the final in Toronto and semi-final in Cincinnati, Washington, Eastbourne and Winston-Salem in addition to a quarter-final appearance in Wimbledon.
It is only a year since Salisbury and Skupski in the beginning agreed to their partnership. Immediately after the US Open they agreed with text to work together before 2025 and then immediately reported their partners to give those players the opportunity to find a new partner for the coming season.
It took a long time for Salisbury and Skupski, who have flown the flag for British Doubles for years. They did not know each other when they were younger, because 35-year-old Skupski is a few years older than the 33-year-old Salisbury. The university products – Salisbury went to the University of Memphis and Skupski went to Louisiana State University – got to know each other for the first time more than ten years ago.
In 2013, Skupski saw Salisbury Albano Olivetti play in an ITF World Tennis Tour event in Great -Britain.
“I remember that I saw Joe playing there and I thought he was pretty good. He was a bit different, I am pretty sure that he was serve volleying and things like that on the grass,” said Skupski. “But never really thought:” Oh, in the future we will play twice together “, because I was up [brother] Know [Skupski] At that time. ”
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Salisbury added: “I remember that we played against each other a few times during the Challenger tour when Neal played with Ken and I played with my now coach David O’Hare.
“We played quite a few games against each other, so I feel that we get to know each other when we played challengers.”
For a while Salisbury worked together with coach Tom Corrie, who spoke with Skupski. “Tom said,” Ah, you should play with Joe in the future, “Skupski recalled. “I had something like:” Ah, okay, yes, yes. “And then of course I would probably have had to play a little earlier with Joe a little earlier.”
They turned into frequent opponents. Salisbury enjoyed extensive success with the American Rajeev Ram and won three consecutive US Open titles from 2021-2023. In the final of 2022, Ram and Salisbury defeated Skupski and Wesley Koolhof in the final.
“It was a fairly difficult match when we played against each other a few years ago. Of course Joe won, so he probably had the feeling that he was playing well, but I didn’t feel that we both showed our full potential,” said Skupski. “But now we are together at the same time, we have no British on the other side. We can really do at the back of whom we play.”
Salisbury explained that he and Skupski wanted to play together for a long time, but the timing never worked. He was successful with Ram, or Skupski played well with his partner.
“But I think we knew it was something we wanted to do at some point,” said Salisbury. “It just waited until the timing was right.”
Now they are again only one victory by lifting a large trophy together and becoming the first All-British duo that the US Open wins in the open era. Skupski said: “A little revenge is hopefully around the corner.”
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