“We’ll give it our all when we get out there” – Neal Skupski sets his sights on Davis Cup glory in Manchester
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Doubles specialist Neal Skupski is gearing up for another week of Davis Cup action in Manchester, as he joins the Lexus Great Britain Davis Cup team for what’s set to be his 12th tie.
The former Wimbledon men’s doubles champion has been a regular addition to Leon Smith’s Davis Cup team over the last five years and has produced some of his best performances while representing Great Britain.
We sat down with Skupski ahead of this year’s Group Stages to talk all about the atmosphere of playing in front of a home crowd, his unforgettable deciding doubles victory against France last time out in Manchester and the tough doubles opposition the Brits could face across the net.
“It’s always nice to play at home,” Skupski smiled. “The fans, they always seem to come out and give it full efforts in the crowd. They get loud and it spurs the team on, so hopefully we can put in a good performance for them and get three wins.
“It’s not going to be easy – but we’re looking forward to it. The team’s been practicing well, we’re confident and we’re looking forward to getting started.”
The 2023 Group Stages at the AO Arena saw Skupski team up with compatriot Dan Evans to pull off one of the most impressive comeback victories in recent Davis Cup history.
Heading into a deciding doubles rubber against Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Nicholas Mahut, the Brits pulled off an epic comeback victory – saving four match points before eventually punching their ticket to the Final 8 in Malaga in emphatic fashion in front of a 13,000 strong home crowd.
“It was one match I’ll probably never forget,” Skupski added when reflecting on last year’s whirlwind match against the Frenchmen. “It’s extra special playing Davis Cup for your country and doing it with Dan who I’ve grown up with throughout the juniors and obviously on the ATP Tour now.
“After the first set it wasn’t looking good and we put in a poor performance, but we kept in there and obviously saved four match points and won at the end. It was amazing not just for us and the team but for all the fans to get that victory.”
This year’s British team is set up for multiple doubles combinations, thanks to a strong selection of doubles specialists and singles players who’ve been trying their hand on the doubles court over the last few months.
Reigning Wimbledon men’s doubles champion Henry Patten has received his first call up off the back of a standout season, while Jack Draper teamed up with world No.1 Jannik Sinner for the doubles draw at the National Bank Open, and Evans competed alongside Andy Murray in his last ever professional tournament at the Olympics, where they reached the quarter-finals.
With an abundance of talent and many partners readily available to compete alongside Skupski during the upcoming week, what does qualities does he think makes a formidable doubles partnership on the Davis Cup stage?
“We’ve got a few different line-ups we can put out there. Sticking together through thick and thin, the good times and the bad times. The communication out there is going to be key because things can get a bit tricky when it gets loud on the court, especially when you have an opposing team and their bench getting quite loud as well.”
The 34-year-old comes in with a 7-4 win record in Davis Cup ties and knows exactly what it takes to succeed against the world’s best doubles stars. However, there will be tough competition eager to upset the Brits on home soil, with a strong doubles contingent amongst the three opposing nations.
“It’s going to be a little bit different to last year – I think Mahut and Roger-Vasselin were the only established doubles team, the others were made up of singles players. This year is going to be different, you’ve got Harri Heliovaara, Henry Patten’s doubles partner and they won Wimbledon this year.
“Argentina have got (Andres) Molteni and (Maximo) Gonzalez who’ve been together a couple of years now, they’ve had success on the tour and Canada have got amazing singles players that can play doubles so they’re going to be a dangerous team as well.
“We’ve got to be ready for whoever we put out. We’ll do our scouting, we’ll practice hard and then we’ll give it our all when we get out there.”
Great Britain will begin their campaign to reach the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga on Wednesday 11 September when they take on Finland at 13:00 BST.
You can watch every tie from the Davis Cup on the Tennis Channel. All of Great Britain’s ties will also be broadcast live on the Tennis Channel FAST channels, as well as BBC red button, BBC Sport website and BBC iPlayer.
