Brits assured of spot in Wimbledon Men's doubles final
A British presence in the men's doubles final at Wimbledon has been guaranteed as Neal Skupski and Henry Patten both emerged victorious with their respective partners, earning a spot in the last four.
Skupski, alongside New Zealand's Michael Venus, triumphed over German pair Constantin Frantzen and Hendrik Jebens with a double tiebreak victory, sealing the match 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-1) in the quarterfinals.
Patten and Harri Heliovaara from Finland, on the other hand, staged a remarkable fightback after dropping the first set, eventually clinching a thrilling 4-6 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (10-7) win against Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia.
Last year's men's doubles title-winner, Skupski, partnered up with Michael Venus for this year's tournament, showcasing excellent partnership skills. Venus, who usually competes with Jamie Murray, has meshed seamlessly with Skupski. Before their Wimbledon performance, Skupski and Venus secured victories at Queen's and Eastbourne, extending their winning streak to claim their latest triumph in just 91 minutes on court 12. SSP reported.
Patten, in a remarkable achievement, finds himself in the latter stages of a Grand Slam for the first time alongside partner Heliovaara, after eliminating the fourth seeds in a closely contested encounter.
In mixed doubles action, British duo Marcus Willis and Alicia Barnett advanced to the quarterfinals following a hard-fought match against the American pair Marcus Willis and Katie Volynets, emerging victorious 2-6 6-3 11-9. For Willis, this Wimbledon tournament marks his return after a hiatus since 2017 when he temporarily came out of retirement.
Reflecting on the experience, he stated, "It's very different now. I was a singles player back then. I've retired, come back, and just had a positive nearly two years back. I still pinch myself at the ranking I am. We're playing Wimbledon quarterfinals. It's just amazing. I'm just making sure I'm trying to go out there and enjoy it."
In other matches, Jamie Murray teamed up with Taylor Townsend from the United States, securing a hard-fought victory over Germany's Kevin Krawietz and Alexandra Panova from Russia by defeating them 6-7 (3-7) 6-1 10-5 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Neal Skupski continued his winning streak as he and his American partner Desirae Krawczyk dominated the match against France's Fabrice Martin and Cristina Bucsa from Spain, securing a confident 6-3 6-3 win.
Unfortunately, the journey came to an end for British pair Heather Watson and Joe Salisbury, as they were defeated 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 by Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei and Jan Zielinski from Poland.