By Glenys Furness
- Neal Skupski claimed doubles title in Adelaide
- Brit won Melbourne Summer Set previous week
- Skupski & Koolhof were top seeds in Melbourne
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – Neal Skupski has teamed up with Welsey Koolhof and have made an explosive start to the season. The Brit/Dutch pair claimed the title in Adelaide, following on from Melbourne.
Neal Skupski and Wesley Koolhof have made a storming start to the 2022 tennis season. Last week the Brit/Dutch pair were in Melbourne for the “Summer Set” and were the top seeds. Skupski & Koolhof received a first round Bye. In the second round the top seeds were against Andrea Vavassori & Talion Griekspoor. The top seeds managed to secure the break of serve in the first set to move into the lead. The second set saw Vavassori & Griekspoor fought back, breaking the Brit/Dutch to level the match. In the ensuing match tiebreak Skupski & Koolhof dominated and moved into the next round 6-3, 3-6, 10-4.
The quarter-final saw the top seeds against the seventh seeds Romain Arneodo & Andreas Mies. However, the seventh seeds were unable to take to the court. Handing a walkover to Skupski & Koolhof. The top seeds were into the next round 0-0 (RET).
In the semi-final the Brit/Dutch were against the third seeds Jean-Julien Rojer & Marcelo Arevalo-Gonzalez. Skupski & Koolhof dominated the first set and took the lead. The second set saw the third seeds up their game and try to fight back. However, the top seeds held on and broke serve to book a spot in the final in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.
The final saw the top seeds against the sixth seeds Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi & Aleksandr Nedovyesov. Skupski & Koolhof secured a break of serve to take the lead. The Pakistani/Kazakh tried to mount a fight back. The top seeds though were not to be dismissed. Skupski & Koolhof broke again in the second set to seal the win and their first title together 6-4, 6-4.
Adelaide
Moving to Adelaide the Brit/Dutch pair were third seeds. Once again Skupski & Koolhof received a first round bye. In the second round the Brit/Dutch pair were against home players John-Patrick Smith & Luke Saville. The first set was very tight with neither pair able to get ahead. A tiebreak ensued to get the lead. In the breaker it was the third seeds who dominated to get the vital lead in the match. The second set was very much the same. Neither pair able to get ahead, once again a tiebreak was needed. Again it was Skupski & Koolhof that dominated to get ahead and book a spot in the quarter-final 7-6(2), 7-6(3).
The quarter-final saw the third seeds against Benoit Paire & Oscar Otte. In the first set the French/German pair stayed toe to toe with Skupski & Koolhof. Eventually the seeds managed to get the break of serve to move into the lead. The second set saw the third seeds claim the first game. Unfortunately at this point their opponents had to retire from the match. Skupski & Koolhof were through to the semi-final 6-4, 1-0 (RET).
In the semi-final Skupski & Koolhof were against the second seeds Ivan Dodig & Marcelo Melo. Just like the previous round the Croatian/Mexican stayed with the Brit/Dutch. However, the third seeds managed to secure the break of serve to take the lead. The second set saw Skupski & Koolhof dominate the second seeds to move into the final 6-4, 6-1.
The final saw the Brit/Dutch against sixth seeds Gonzalo Escobar & Ariel Behar. The Ecuadorian/Uraguyan pair stayed toe to toe with the third seeds in the first set. The sixth seeds forced a tiebreak. In a very edgy tiebreak it was Skupski & Koolhof that edged through to take the lead. The second set saw the third seeds break serve of Escobar & Behar to take the title 7-6(5), 6-4.
Doubles Round Up
Ken Skupski & Dom Inglot were defeated by Ivan Sabanov & Matej Sabanov in the first round in Adelaide 6-2, 3-6, 10-7.
Tara Moore with Kristina Kucova were defeated by Katarzyna Piter & Marta Kostyuk in the first round in Adelaide 6-3, 6-0.
Joe Salisbury with Rajeev Ram were defeated by Aaron Addison & Thomas Fancutt in the second round in Adelaide 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-8.
Jay Clarke with Marius Copil were defeated by Jack Draper & Borna Gojo in the first round in Forli 6-3, 7-6(5).
Jack Draper with Borna Gojo were defeated by Fabien Reboul & Sadio Doumbia in the quarter-final in Forli 6-2, 6-1.
Joseph Newman-Billington & Michael Shaw were defeated by Luke Johnson & Guy Den Ouden in the first round in Bath 6-1, 6-3.
David Fox & Mark Whitehouse were defeated by Alafia Ayeni & Roy Smith in the first round in Bath 6-4, 6-2.
Ben Jones & Daniel Little were defeated by Joshua Paris & Vijay Sundar Prashanth in the first round in Bath 6-4, 3-6, 10-6.
Daniel Cox & Arthur Fery were defeated by Felix Gill & Stuart Parker in the first round in Bath 7-6(5), 6-2.
James MacKinley & Ewan Moore were defeated by Giles Hussey & Toby Samuel in the first round in Bath 6-2, 6-3.
Billy Harris with Patrik Niklas-Salminen were defeated by Oscar Weightman & Harry Wendelken in the first round in Bath 6-4, 5-7, 10-6.
Josef Southcombe & Mattias Southcome were defeated by Adam Jones & Toby Martin in the first round in Bath 6-3, 6-2.
Jonathan Binding & Scott Duncan were defeated by Charles Broom & Alastair Gray in the first round in Bath 7-5, 6-4.
Abigail Amos & Emma Wilson were defeated by Nadia Rawson & Gabriela Andrea Knutson in the first round in Bath 6-4, 1-6, 10-4.
Amelia Bissett with Lissi Kubre were defeated by Emily Appleton & Ali Collins in the first round in Bath 6-3, 6-2.
Freya Davies & Hannah Smith were defeated by Emily Webley-Smith & Arina Gabriela Vasilescu in the first round in Bath 6-3, 6-3.
Lauren Bishop with Elizabeth Kapari Bagerbaseh were defeated by Caijsa Hennemann & Elena Malygina in the first round in Bath 6-2, 6-1.
Holly Hutchinson & Lauryn John-Baptiste were defeated by Eliz Maloney & Andre Lukosiute in the first round in Bath 6-3, 6-4.
Felix Gill & Stuart Parker were defeated by Joshua Paris & Vijay Sundar Prashanth in the quarter-final in Bath 6-4, 6-1.
Giles Hussey & Toby Samuel were defeated by Oscar Weightman & Harry Wendelken in the quarter-finaal in Bath 6-4, 2-6, 10-3.
Adam Jones & Toby Martin were defeated by Charles Broom & Alastair Gray in the quarter-final in Bath 6-3, 6-1.
Nadia Rawson with Gabriela Andrea Knutson were defeated by Alicia Barnett & Olivia Nicholls in the quarter-final in Bath 6-1, 6-3.
Emily Appleton & Ali Collins were defeated by Emily Webley-Smith & Arina Gabriela Vasilescu in the quarter-final in Bath 7-6(4), 6-2.
Paulina Jurkowska & Jessica Matthews were defeated by Caijsa Hennemann & Elena Malygina in the quarter-final in Bath 6-4, 6-0.
Eliz Maloney with Andre Lukosiute were defeated by Freya Christie & Eden Silva in the quarter-final in Bath 4-6, 6-2, 10-8.
Joshua Paris with Vijay Sundar Prashanth were defeated by Luke Johnson & Guy Den Ouden in the semi-final in Bath 6-2, 6-2.
Oscar Weightman & Harry Wendelken were defeated by Charles Broom & Alastair Gray in the semi-final in Bath 6-3, 6-4.
Alicia Barnett & Olivia Nicholls were defeated by Emily Webley-Smith & Arina Gabriela Vasilescu in the semi-final in Bath 6-2, 4-6, 10-8.
Freya Christie & Eden Silva were defeated by Caijsa Hennemann & Elena Malygina in the semi-final in Bath 6-4, 6-1.
Emily Webley-Smith with Arina Gabriela Vasilescu were defeated by Caijsa Hennemann & Elena Malygina in the final in Bath 6-4, 6-3.
Luke Johnson with Guy Den Ouden were defeated by Charles Broom & Alastair Gray in the final in Bath 6-2, 6-2.
Next Week Brits play in Melbourne, Forli, Lithuania, Tunisia, Brazil, Spain, Mexico & Turkey.
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