Neal Skupski hopes he has finally found the perfect match after keeping his Wimbledon men’s doubles title defence alive.
The Liverpool ace, 34, and partner Michael Venus beat American duo Chris Eubanks and Evan King 7-5 6-3 on Court 12 to safely book their place in the quarter-finals.
Skupski won his maiden men’s doubles title at the All England Club alongside Dutch player Wesley Koolhof last summer but after a turbulent year of chopping and changing partners, arrived here alongside American Venus, 36, to defend his crown.
Skupski admits things felt a little strange at the start of the week but believes a run deep with Venus can lay the foundations for long-term success.
“I’ve changed from Wesley and I’ve known Mike for a long time – we went to university together so on and off the court, we know each other very well,” said Skupski, who will now face German duo Constantin Frantzen and Hendrik Jebens in the last eight.
“It’s clicked since ball one – it’s been a tough year for me changing partners all the time but hopefully I can settle down after Wimbledon.
“I still don’t know who’s that going to be – I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do with Mike at Wimbledon.
“It was a little bit strange not coming back here with Wesley – it didn’t really feel like I was defending champion.
“But you’ve got to take confidence from last year – I’ve had good success with Mike and he knows what it takes to get to the final.
“It’s a tough quarter-final against a tough German duo, but we’ll see what we can do.”
Later in the day, Skupski joined forces with fellow American Desirae Krawczyk as he turned his attention to the second round of the mixed doubles.
And he translated his form with Venus onto that Court 18 stage, eventually battling past Brazilian duo Rafael Matos and Luisa Stefani.
Skupski added: “I feel great – it was much more straightforward without any rain delays.
“We had great energy, it was nice to get the two wins and we go again tomorrow.”
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