US Open: Harrison/Skupski win men’s doubles title

New York: American Christian Harrison and Britain’s Neal Skupski captured the 2026 US Open men’s doubles title, defeating German duo Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, 6-4, 7-6(6), in Saturday’s final.

The victory gave Harrison and Skupski their second Grand Slam title of the year as they had earlier won the 2026 Australian Open men’s doubles title in January.

The American-British pair held their nerve when it mattered most, defeating the German duo to claim the trophy and New York’s second major title of the season, having also triumphed at the Australian Open in January.

In Saturday’s final, Harrison and Skupski let slip a break point at 4-3, 40/30 in the second set, but held their nerve in the tie-break, saving a set point at 5/6 before powering to victory in one hour and 39 minutes.

“Congratulations to Tim and Kevin on a great tournament,” Harrison said during the trophy ceremony. “It is never easy playing you guys. But making the final is a lot to be proud of… And thanks to my partner Christian. It has been great to get two major titles this year. I’m speechless, having done this at home.”

Through the fortnight, the champions did not drop a set, defeating Mark Wallner and Jakob Schnaitter in the third round, fourth seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the quarter-finals, upsetting top seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten in the semi-finals before beating Krawietz and Puetz in the final. The fifth seeds won all five of their tie-breaks at the hard-court major this year.

By completing the run without losing a set, Harrison and Skupski became the third men’s team in the Open Era to win the title without losing a set after Peter Fleming and John McEnroe in 1983 and Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in 2008 & 2010.

The victory also offered redemption for Skupski, who reached the final last year with Joe Salisbury but fell to Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos after the pair squandered three championship points.

“I don’t know what to say as I am still in shock,” Skupski said following the win. “The speech gets a little bit easier once you have won. Having match points in last year’s championship final [it was hard]. It was a tough part of my career, but it is amazing what a year does in tennis.”

IANS