Koolhof/Skupski Seal Third-Round Spot At Wimbledon

After picking up five ATP Tour titles in their first six months together, can Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski transfer their success to the Grand Slam stage?

The third seeds overcame Pedro Martinez and John-Patrick Smith 7-6(6), 6-2, 7-6(6) at Wimbledon on Friday to book a third-round spot at the grass-court major in London. Koolhof and Skupski reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and Roland Garros in their two previous Grand Slam campaigns as a team, and they have made a perfect start in London with two straight-sets victories.

Sixth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah are also yet to drop a set at SW19 after a 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 triumph against Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral. The 19-time tour-level titlists, who lifted the trophy at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in 2019, are chasing their first crown of the season.

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Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies enjoyed a comfortable second-round win of their own, but only after coming through a tight first set against home wild card pairing Arthur Fery and Felix Gill. The 11th-seeded German duo pressed on after taking the opener, eventually running out 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-4 winners.

Three other seeded pairings also advanced to the third round on Friday. Eighth seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek breezed past all-Polish pair Lukasz Kubot and Szymon Walkow 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-2, and their next opponents will be 12th seeds Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who edged Hans Hach Verdugo and Philipp Oswald 6-7(5), 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 7-6(2), 6-4.

Mallorca International champions and 16th seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez advanced after Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi retired with the Brazilian-Spanish pairing leading 3-6, 7-6(6), 5-3.

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Seventh seeds John Peers and Filip Polasek completed a remarkable comeback victory as the first-round action at Wimbledon was completed on Monday. The Australian-Slovakian duo converted four from 14 break point opportunities to engineer a 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 victory against Mackenzie McDonald and Botic van de Zandschulp.

Top 10 singles star Casper Ruud and his partner William Blumberg held their nerve for a dramatic opening victory. The Norwegian-American pair beat Nicolas Barrientos and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-6((10-7).

There was also first-round success for British duo Jonny O’Mara and Ken Skupski, who beat Julio Peralta and Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. The 39-year-old Skupski, the older brother of Neal, is playing in his final professional tournament after announcing his intention to retire after The Championships.