Skupski reunites with old friend for grass run

By Paul Eddison, Sportsbeat

The partnership between Neal Skupski and Michael Venus might be in its infancy at professional level but the duo have years of experience to call upon as they bid for a place in the final of Queen’s.

Liverpool-born Skupski, who won Wimbledon alongside Wesley Koolhof last year, has linked up with his former college teammate Venus for this grass-court season.

And after a first-round exit in Stuttgart last week, they seem to have found their grass legs, reaching the semi-finals of the cinch Championships at Queen’s with a 7-6 (5) 7-6 (6) win over Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, the latter who will link up with Skupski for Team GB at the Olympics this summer.

Skupski said: “It was a high-level match from both sides. It was probably mine and Mike’s best performance as a team together.

“The conditions were a little bit warmer, with less wind and I think a lot of the game was to do with first serves, hitting your spots and that is what all four guys did. There were very few chances, there were a couple of breaks in the second set but everything else was pretty clean.

“Me and Mike played very well, I thought we deserved it in the end and we can take confidence in beating a very good team in Joe and Rajeev.

"They have won Grand Slams together, they are a very dangerous team, especially on the grass. We can take confidence from it and hopefully put in another good performance in the next round.”

Now 34, Skupski has joined forces with New Zealander Venus, who he played alongside more than a decade ago when the pair were at the same college in the US, Louisiana State University.

And while they have had limited chances to play alongside one another at tour level, Skupski is keen to make the most of this opportunity.

He added: “Mike and I went to college together, we did a year at LSU, he was a senior and I was a freshman.

"We played together and in my first year we got to number two in the country. We have had that link for a long time, we’re good friends off the court.

“It’s been great to play with him again. We’ve played once, making the final of Washington a few years ago.

"The opportunity came to play the grass-court season with Mike so I’m looking forward to the rest of the grass-court season and hopefully we can put some more good results together.

“I enjoy the grass, I’ve had success in the past at Wimbledon before. I’m looking forward to trying to make the final at Queen’s, I’ve never done that.

"It’s a special event, Jamie (Murray) and his team have put on a great show this week and hopefully we can get some crowd support.”

For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website