Neal Skupski Reaches US Open Men's Doubles Final
Neal Skupski’s New York mission is still alive – and now it’s one match from completion.
The 36-year-old from Liverpool, alongside American partner Christian Harrison, marched into the US Open men’s doubles final with a sharp, disciplined 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 win over top seeds Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara, needing just an hour and 23 minutes to dismantle the favourites.
They have not dropped a set all tournament. That stat alone tells you how clean this run has been.
Breaking the top seeds’ grip
Patten and Heliovaara came in as the pair to beat. They’d already had the better of Skupski and Harrison a couple of times this year, and they carried the No. 1 seeding for a reason. Early on, it showed. The first set tightened quickly, rallies stretching, serves holding under pressure.
Then the tie-break arrived and Skupski and Harrison went after it.
They played it on their terms: aggressive returns, bold positioning at the net, and no hesitation when half-chances appeared. The 7-4 breaker felt like a statement as much as a scoreline. The moment they pocketed the opener, the tone of the match changed.
The pressure finally told in the second set. Skupski and Harrison broke, then broke again, ripping through the top seeds’ resistance with a mix of smart angles and calm serving. What had started as a finely balanced semi-final ended with the Australian Open champions in full control.
A veteran chasing more history
For Skupski, this is about more than one good fortnight in New York. He is chasing a fifth Grand Slam title and a third in men’s doubles, adding to his Wimbledon crown in 2023 with Wesley Koolhof and that Australian Open triumph earlier this year with Harrison.
Flushing Meadows, though, has unfinished business attached.
Last year, he and fellow Briton Joe Salisbury stood on the brink of the title and let it slip, missing three championship points in a final that still lingers in the memory. That kind of defeat does not disappear. It sits there, shaping the way you walk back into the same stadium 12 months later.
This time, Skupski returns with a different partner and a different edge.
“We know these guys [Patten and Heliovaara] pretty well, we've played them a couple of times this year and they've got the better of us but we brought it today, we knew we had to and really looking forward to a final in New York,” Skupski said, the satisfaction clear after flipping that particular head-to-head.
“We're both very hungry. We've worked hard to get here. We had success at the start of the year at the Australian Open. We had a great time, we know what it feels like to win a Grand Slam and we're going to leave it all out there on Saturday.”
One more shot at Flushing Meadows
The numbers are impressive: no sets lost, a top-seeded team swept aside, and a veteran still collecting deep Slam runs. Yet the real weight of this week lies in what happens next.
Skupski has stood on this stage before. He has felt the trophy almost in his hands and watched it go the other way. On Saturday, with Harrison beside him and New York as the backdrop, he gets another chance to rewrite that ending.
