Neal Skupski will head to Tokyo 2020 as a Wimbledon champion after joining forces with American Desirae Krawczyk to win the mixed doubles title.
Skupski and Krawczyk were in clinical form as they defeated the all-British pairing of Joe Salisbury and Harriet Dart in the final, winning in straight sets 6-2 7-6.
Krawczyk had lifted the French Open mixed doubles title earlier this year with Salisbury but teamed up with Skupski after her former partner agreed to play alongside Dart.
Both Skupski and Salisbury will represent Team GB in Japan and after the former emerged victorious, he admitted winning a trophy at Wimbledon was a dream come true.
“I can’t believe it, it’s an amazing feeling to win a title at Wimbledon,” Skupski said. “You grow up watching it on the TV, you get home from school and put it on as quick as possible.
“You just dream of playing here one day but to win a title with Desirae, it’s an incredible feeling. I want to say congratulations to Joe and Harriet for an amazing week.
“It’s never easy playing finals but especially against two Brits, it makes it extra special. Thank you as well to everyone who came out to watch us before the football!”
Tokyo-bound Salisbury and Skupski traded comfortable service holds before Dart and Krawczyk followed suit in an energetic opening to the contest on Centre Court.
But Salisbury found himself in trouble in his second service game, with Skupski and Krawczyk securing two break points and taking the second one to lead 3-2.
The Anglo-American pair consolidated the break straight away thanks to a straightforward Skupski hold before breaking Dart as well to extend their advantage to 5-2.
And Krawczyk rounded off the first set with a service game hold to love as Salisbury and Dart struggled to deal with the relentless early intensity of their opponents.
The second set started in a similar fashion to the first, with all four players holding their service games but this time Salisbury and Dart managed to hold again to take a 3-2 lead.
Skupski responded with another quickfire hold as the second set remained on serve, with Salisbury and Dart putting the pressure on by moving into a 5-4 advantage.
Salisbury and Dart threatened to send the match to a third set in the 12th game, only for Skupski and Krawczyk to come back from 0-30 down to hold and send it to a tie break.
And Skupski and Krawczyk ultimately raced across the finish line as they took the tie break 7-1 to clinch the second set and the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in style.
“I’ll go home to Liverpool and take a few days off, but then I’ll come back to London and train for a couple days before we head out to Tokyo," Skupski added.
“It’ll be a long trip but I’m looking forward to it. I think we’ve got a good team. There’s a good opportunity for us to bring some silverware home. Hopefully we have a good Olympics.”
Sportsbeat 2021