Neal Skupski is heading back to a Grand Slam final, and this time he wants to leave New York with the one title that keeps slipping away.
The 36-year-old from Liverpool, alongside American partner Christian Harrison, overpowered top seeds Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara to reach the US Open men’s doubles final, winning 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 in an hour and 23 minutes. The Australian Open champions have still not dropped a set all fortnight.
For Skupski, this run is about more than form. It is about unfinished business.
A year ago, he stood on this same court with Joe Salisbury, three championship points in hand, and watched the US Open title disappear. Now he returns with Harrison, armed with the confidence of their Melbourne triumph and a ruthless streak that showed as the match tightened.
Match Overview
The opening set against Patten and Heliovaara carried the tension you would expect when facing the top seeds who had already beaten them a couple of times this season. The rallies were sharp, the margins thin, but Skupski and Harrison refused to blink. They edged the tie-break 7-4, seizing the initiative and never loosening their grip.
Once they had that first set in the bag, the tone changed. The pressure told. Skupski and Harrison began to dictate with authority, reading returns earlier, closing at the net with conviction, and turning half-chances into full-blooded winners. The second set raced away from Patten and Heliovaara, 6-2, as the Anglo-American pair tightened the screws.
“We know these guys 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 courtside, the satisfaction evident.
He did not hide what drives them either.
“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.”
For Skupski, a five-time major champion across doubles disciplines, this is a chance to add a third men’s doubles crown to the Wimbledon title he won in 2023 with Wesley Koolhof and the Australian Open trophy he lifted with Harrison earlier this year. Yet there is a different weight to this particular stage. Flushing Meadows has given him a final, but never the trophy.
Now he stands one match away again, still unbeaten in sets this tournament, carrying the scars of last year and the steel of a reigning champion. On Saturday, he gets another swing at the only answer that matters in New York: can he finally close the door on that missing US Open title?
