American Christian Harrison and Britain's Neal Skupski defeated Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz in straight sets to capture the U.S. Open men's doubles title.
American Christian Harrison and Britain's Neal Skupski defeated German duo Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-4, 7-6(6) on Saturday, September 12, 2026, to win the U.S. Open men's doubles title.
The reigning Australian Open champions grabbed the opening set after Harrison struck a two-handed backhand return winner to break for a 4-3 lead, holding serve the rest of the way to close it out 6-4. The German pair fought back in the second set, but Harrison held serve while facing the sun in a five-point game to force a tiebreak. Down 4-3 in the breaker, Harrison and Skupski recovered, with Skupski drawing an error from Krawietz on the final return to secure their second Grand Slam doubles trophy of 2026.
The victory offered redemption for 36-year-old Skupski, who had previously finished as runner-up in 2022 alongside Dutchman Wesley Koolhof and again in 2025 with Joe Salisbury. Skupski partnered with Harrison at the start of the 2026 season after Salisbury took a break from tennis due to anxiety. Harrison and Skupski had previously lost in the first round of a Futures event together in England back in 2013.
For 32-year-old Harrison, the win was a major milestone following a career impacted by injuries and eight separate surgeries. "Of course, there's always a little bit of doubt, especially as you're getting older and you realise your body is not recovering the same, but I never lost my joy for playing," Harrison said.
Reflecting on their partnership, Skupski said: "It's been obviously an amazing couple of weeks for us. It's just total focus throughout the match, believing in each other, looking at our team, trying to give us as much energy as possible. When we play with energy and belief, we're a very dangerous team. We both believe in each other's games. I feel like we complement each other very well on the court."
Reporting sourced from The Hindu Sport. Photo courtesy The Hindu Sport.