Neal Skupski, Christian Harrison triumph in Australian Open doubles

MELBOURNE: Neal Skupski and Christian Harrison, the sixth seeds, debuted as a team pairing in the Australian Open, overcoming Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans, the wildcards, in the doubles final in 7-6(4), 6-4 here at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.

The win of the British-American pair not only guaranteed Harrison his first Grand Slam win but also became the fourth victory of Skupski in pairs and mixed pairs, but the first major victory since Wimbledon.

Surprisingly, the partnership is highly recent, and the duo began competing together only two weeks ago in Adelaide, following a week of training in Baton Rouge in December.

The match started at a fast pace under the lights in the rain with the roof closed at Rod Laver Arena, and it was an exciting match.

The first set was held at serve until Harrison and Skupski broke to lead 4-2.

But, supported by the noisy cheers of the partisan audience, Kubler and Polmans, Polmans in his familiar legionnaire hat, turned the tables on Harrison and made the set even at 5-5, finally making the tie a possibility.

The tiebreak was fully drawn at 4-4, then the British-American team managed to gain momentum and, seizing the first set, Skupski fired a final overhead smash on the net and made the crowd quiet.

In the second set, Harrison and Skupski served Polmans early to lead 3-1 and never relented, with the Australian duo desperately trying to overpower them, to take the title.