Neal Skupski made history when he added the Wimbledon men’s doubles to his mixed doubles titles here from each of the past two years. The 33-year-old joined forces with the Dutchman Wesley Koolhof to beat Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-4, 6-4.
The victory gave both Skupski and Koolhof, the No 1 seeds, their first men’s doubles grand slam title, having been runners-up in the US Open last year.
One break in each set was enough for victory, with Skupski serving out to love to seal the win. The Liverpudlian becomes the first British man to win both men’s doubles and mixed doubles in their career at Wimbledon since the 1920s, while Koolhof is the fourth Dutchman to win the men’s doubles.
Skupski said: “Growing up watching these amazing Championships on TV, being a young boy at Palmerston Tennis Club in Liverpool, playing with my dad and then with my brother [Ken Skupski], who has been a big part of my career, this feeling doesn’t get any better.
“Me and Wesley came together 18 months ago and this year it was one of our goals to win a grand slam. To do it here feels very special.”
Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid won their fifth Wimbledon wheelchair doubles title together – and 18th in all – as they fended off new challengers, Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 in front of a packed crowd on No 1 Court.
Hewett said: “That was something else, I’ve got goosebumps. We dream of atmospheres like this … I’m glad we rose to the occasion.”
“It was a great match,” Reid said. “On match point, we were both tearing up a little bit because the atmosphere was electric. My first Wimbledon was 2008 on court 53 or something, in front of three men and a dog, my mum and my sister. If you told me then that we’d be on Court 1 with a crowd going berserk, I’d never have believed it. It’s an incredible occasion for wheelchair tennis.”
Hewett will try to add the singles title on Sunday when he plays the 17-year-old Oda in the final.
Diede de Groot won her fifth singles title at Wimbledon and 12th consecutive slam title with a 6-2, 6-1 win over another Dutchwoman, her doubles partner Jiske Griffioen.
The first time Henry Searle visited No 1 Court, it was to watch Roger Federer play. On Sunday, he will take on the Russian Yaroslav Demin for the boys’ title, having beaten the American Cooper Williams 7-6 (4), 6-3 in his semi-final.
Victory for Searle in the final would make him the first Briton to win the title since Stanley Matthews Jr in 1962 but the 17-year-old said he is trying not to think about making history. “I don’t really think about it too much, to be honest,” he said. “I just focus on myself. This is another match at the end of the day, and I’ll do my best to win. I can’t really control what goes on on the outside.”
Hannah Klugman and Isabelle Lacy will become the first all-British pairing to win the girls’ doubles title here if they beat the Czechs Alena Kovackova and Laura Samsonova in Sunday’s final.
