Interviews
Wimbledon champion Neal Skupski reflects on ‘incredible’ winning moment and looks ahead to US Open and Davis Cup
“And they’ve done it – the world No.1 pair are Wimbledon champions, and it’s easy to see why…how good a performance was that?” – the words of BBC Commentator John Inverdale after an historic moment in British tennis history.
On Saturday 15 July 2023, 33-year-old Neal Skupski became the first Brit to have won both the men’s and mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon since 1926 as he lifted his maiden major trophy with Dutch partner, Wesley Koolhof.
The top seeds only dropped one set on their way to their first men’s doubles Grand Slam title, ticking off yet another goal since coming together at the start of 2022 to form one of the strongest doubles sides in the world.
Now heading to the final Slam of the season at Flushing Meadows, the world No.1 took some time to reflect on one of the biggest days of his life, while looking ahead at what’s to come both at the US Open and at the Davis Cup Finals Group Stages in Manchester next month.
“It was incredible really,” Skupski said, recalling the closing moments of their final match on Centre Court. “Just going through the match, it felt like it was almost going too well – Wesley and I were playing great tennis, it was probably our best match of the tournament to be honest.
“When you see that return go wide, all the emotions hit you and I just turned straight towards the box and saw all Mum and Dad, Ken, Louis (Cayer) my coach and the rest of the team who were there. I was just so happy, and all the emotions came out.
“I couldn’t really believe it and I’m still in shock that it really happened, but it had been one of our goals from the start of the season – to win a Grand Slam. It eluded us last year; we came close at the US Open so it’s good to have that off our backs now and we can push on for even more.
The past month since has been a bit of a whirlwind for the Liverpool-native, but now having got back out on the tour, Skupski is gearing up for another run at the US Open title – this time, with that Grand Slam winning experience behind him.
“Afterwards it was pretty draining with everything that comes with it – media, seeing family and friends, etc – so it took a good 10 days for it all to settle down and then we could really take it all in. It’s been nice to get back on the road and start playing tennis again on the world tour to be honest.
“Losing the final at the US last year was big for us going into the final of Wimbledon, we took a lot of experience from that. Now we go into the US Open as Grand Slam champions and I think we’ll take a lot from that experience as well.
“We’re just looking forward to getting back out there on court and hopefully we’ll be able to play without that pressure and we can go to New York very confident. We’ll be the No.1 seeds and people will be looking to knock us off our perch, but we’ll be ready.
“We’ve lost a couple of matches recently and decided I wanted to try and get a few more matches in so came to Winston-Salem and it’s been nice to play with another Brit and get ready for next week. It’s the first time Lloyd (Glasspool) and I have played together, and it’s been a different experience but I’m enjoying it.”
We’ll be the No.1 seeds and people will be looking to knock us off our perch, but we’ll be ready.
After winning an impressive seven titles last year, including three ATP Masters, Skupski and Koolhof have had to work on the fine margins of their game this year to push them over the line and win that first Slam. One major factor in helping them on that journey has been the addition of Skupski’s brother and former partner, Ken, to his coaching team.
“Having Ken on the team has been unbelievable really,” he said. “During my lifetime he’s pretty much always been my coach, after my Dad as well. It’s been great having him as part of the team since he retired at Wimbledon last year, it was always a goal of ours to make this happen.
“This year he’s been able to travel a bit more and I think he’s enjoyed seeing friends on the tour again as well. He’s been giving me loads of advice and he helps take some of the pressure off on match days.”
While the US Open remains the main focus for Skupski at the moment, the world No.1 will also have one eye on the Davis Cup Finals Group Stages, which are set to come to Manchester’s AO Arena for the first time from 12-17 September.
A main stay in Captain Leon Smith’s squad in recent years, Skupski is once again in the Lexus Great Britain Team as the only doubles specialist, as the Brits get set to battle it out for a place in the Knock-out Finals in Malaga later in the year.
“I’m really looking forward to the Davis Cup, especially being in Manchester, not too far from Liverpool where I’m based,” he said. “I love playing for my country and the Davis Cup is always one of my favourite weeks of the year.
“It’s a tough group with Australia, Switzerland and France, all very good teams with Grand Slam winners, so it’s going to be difficult, but we have a good group of guys who have played a lot of Davis Cup matches.
“We’re a close-knit family and I think that’s because of all the work Leon Smith does to bring us together and create that team environment. We’ve had a few conversations already – mainly about what coffee shops we’re going to go to in the mornings!
“I think we can look at different match ups and have different doubles combinations. Obviously, I’ve played with Evo (Dan Evans) in the past and we beat (Juan Sebastian) Cabal and (Robert) Farah in Colombia. Andy (Murray) and Evo recently played together as well and (Cam) Norrie isn’t too bad at doubles either. Whoever Leon picks on the day, we’ll be behind the team no matter what.
“It’s going to be great to play in front of the Manchester crowd and hopefully the fans can fill the place out and make it a bit rowdy and help us get through to Malaga.”
Tickets are still available to watch Skupski and the rest of the Lexus GB Davis Cup team in Manchester.