Neal Skupski revealed he had no choice but to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles title after his brother and coach Ken returned from his family holiday in Ibiza to watch the final.
Skupski became just the second Briton to win the SW19 men’s doubles in the open era, after Jonny Marray 11 years ago, as he and Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof beat Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-4 6-4 on Centre Court.
The 33-year-old Liverpudlian thought he would have to play his final without Ken in his box after his older sibling drove home following Thursday’s semi-final to go on holiday.
But his big brother hot-footed it back to the tournament and, wearing his brother’s clothes, saw history being made as Neal completed a Wimbledon hat-trick following 2021 and 2022 wins in the mixed doubles.
“There was a lot of pressure on me this morning after he came back,” Neal said. “He did go to Ibiza for probably 14 hours.
“He drove home straightaway after the semi-final, back to Liverpool and it obviously took four or five hours.
“He got back around 11pm, had a 2am alarm and drove to Manchester airport with his family. Got to Ibiza around 9.30am and enjoyed the day there.
“Then he had a 1am flight this morning back from Ibiza that was delayed a couple of hours so got into Gatwick at 4.30am, slept in a pod at Gatwick airport. Got the car at 9am here.
“He was on court with me borrowing my clothes. Yeah, he’s already left to go back to Ibiza with the family. He probably wants a pay rise!
“He always said, ‘If you make the final, I’m coming back’. I don’t know if he ever believed that I’d make the final. But, yeah, amazing for him. Unbelievable commitment.”
After winning the mixed doubles with Desirae Krawczyk in the last two years, Neal said the men’s doubles title would be the “pinnacle” and it is his first grand slam triumph in the men’sevent, having lost in the US Open final last year.
He also becomes the first British man to win a hat-trick of titles since the great Fred Perry in the late 1930s.
“I’m speechless really,” he added. “It’s something I never thought would ever happen. Obviously I won the mixed doubles a couple times with Desirae Krawczyk.
“It’s just an amazing feeling right now.
“It’s an amazing achievement, when you said about Fred Perry, the last person to win three in a row.
“But, yeah, it’s nothing that I was thinking about coming into the event. It was more thinking about me and Wesley, what we were going to do.
“The goal this year was to win a grand slam. Obviously we’ve done well in previous grand slams, making the quarter-finals and the US Open final last year.
“But now to call ourselves grand slam champions in the men’s doubles, an amazing achievement for not just us but the whole team.”
Swiatek makes it back-to-back finals with Gauff win
Iga Swiatek is through to the Italian Open final for the third time after seeing off Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday.
There was little to separate the two in the opening 50 minutes as they played to 4-4 before Gauff left an opening with back-to-back double faults, and Swiatek took full advantage.
The world number one broke Gauff’s serve four times, including in the fifth game of the second set to swing the momentum firmly in her favour after one hour 48 minutes on the court.
Swiatek has now reached back-to-back WTA 1000 finals after winning the Madrid Open earlier this month and could face Aryna Sabalenka for the title once more if the Belarusian gets past Danielle Collins in the other semi-final.
Data Debrief: Unstoppable on clay
Swiatek has now won 11 consecutive matches, and registered her 10th victory over Gauff in 11 meetings between the two - she has won all four matches against the American on clay.
Since the format’s introduction in 2009, Swiatek (40 per cent, 12/30) holds the highest percentage of finals reached from WTA-1000 main draws entered. Serena Williams (36.7 per cent, 18/49) is the next best in the format's history.
Since the WTA rankings were first published in 1975, Swiatek has become only the third player to reach multiple Italian Open finals as the WTA's number one, along with Serena Williams (three) and Monica Seles (two). She will be looking for her third Italian Open title on Saturday.
Paul sees off Hurkacz in seesaw quarter-final
Tommy Paul reached the semi-final of the Italian Open after pulling through a rollercoaster clash with Hubert Hurkacz on Thursday.
The number 14 seed downed Hurkacz 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarter-final, keeping his composure during his two hours and 43 minutes on the court.
After winning the first set, Hurkacz fought back to win the second, but the American was not out of the contest yet as he clawed back from 0-2 down early in the third.
He closed out the win in a dramatic fashion, fending off six break points while letting three of his own slip, to eventually set up a semi-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas or Nicolas Jerry on Friday.
Data Debrief: Into the final four
After beating Daniil Medvedev in the previous round, Paul has now won back-to-back matches against top-10 opponents for the first time in his professional career with his victory over Hurkacz.
Paul earned his 150th tour-level win to take him through to his third Masters 1000 semi-final, as he aims to become the first American finalist in Rome since Andre Agassi in 2002.
Zverev overcomes injury scare to maintain Italian Open charge
Alexander Zverev moved a step closer to his second Italian Open title with a hard-fought 6-4 6-3 quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz, overcoming an injury scare en route to the last four.
Zverev – who triumphed on the clay in Rome back in 2017 – produced a dominant serving performance against another heavy hitter in Fritz, but only after an awkward fall early on.
The German sought medical attention after falling on his stomach in the third service game of the match, the slip leaving him bleeding from both hands.
However, he soon shook off that knock and did not allow Fritz a single break point in a deeply impressive display, setting up a semi-final meeting with Chile's Alejandro Tabilo – the conqueror of Novak Djokovic – for Friday.
Data Debrief: Zverev gathering momentum
Zverev, the lone former champion remaining in the men's draw, is surely the favourite to win a tournament characterised by unfortunate withdrawals and shock defeats for the biggest names.
Seven of Zverev's 21 tour-level titles have come on clay, and he is yet to drop a single set in Rome this year. His three-year wait for an ATP 1000 title could soon be over.
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