Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski continued to underline their intentions at the Nitto ATP Finals on Wednesday, as they earned another clinical victory and came to the brink of qualifying for the semi-finals.
The British duo put in a spirited performance to beat second seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten 7-6(7), 3-6, 10-7 after one hour and 43 minutes in their second round-robin clash. Salisbury needed a medical timeout during the first set but – with strong support from Skupski – maintained his sharp reactions late in the Match Tie-break to extend his winning streak at the prestigious season finale to twelve matches, having won back-to-back titles with Rajeev Ram in 2022-2023.
Two Of Two ✌️
Salisbury & Skupski beat Heliovaara/Patten in a match tiebreak to remain undefeated #NittoATPFinalspic.twitter.com/bAqaZIyFHp
— ATP tour (@atptour) November 12, 2025
“I didn’t feel my best there, I think I had a bug overnight, but Neal was great,” Salisbury said. “I didn’t have as much energy as usual, but I knew Neal was there to support me. He played great and did most of the work. I’m not sure how we got through that in the end.”
With their win, Salisbury and Skupski improved to 2-0 in the John McEnroe Group. They can qualify for the semi-finals later on Wednesday if Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic beat Christian Harrison and Evan King.
The decisive moment of the match came at 7/7 in the Match Tie-break, when Salisbury guided a forehand return winner past Patten to cross the outside edge of the line. It was one of three consecutive points to win the match and level their Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Heliovaara/Patten at 2-2.
“It was a very good level all the time, there were nice margins,” Skupski said. “We know as a team that we have fought hard all year, and when it comes to tiebreaks, we just fight until the end. We have played crucial games all year and that has helped us along the way.”
Salisbury and Skupski make their team debut at the Nitto ATP Finals after a strong 2025 season in which they reached five finals, including at Roland Garros and the US Open. They now boast a record of 57-26 on the year, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and will face Harrison and King in their final group stage match on Friday.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
#SalisburySkupski #remain #perfect #close #SFs #Nitto #ATP #Finals