Britain’s Luke Johnson wins Barcelona Open doubles title
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Doubles star Luke Johnson and Dutch partner Sander Arends have won the ATP 500 Barcelona Open men’s doubles title – the biggest trophy of the Briton’s career so far.
Johnson and Arends came through against the all-British team of Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski 6-3, 6-7(1), 10-6 in the final to lift their third ATP title together.
An early double mini break in the championship tie-break helped Johnson and Arends race out to a 7-2 lead before closing out the win on their third match point.
The victory caps off an impressive week for the duo, having opened up with a straight sets victory against fourth seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni before also claiming scalps over Ariel Behar and Joran Vliegen, and home favourites Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar. The pair lost just one set across the whole tournament.
Johnson is the first British player in the Open Era to win the Barcelona Open men’s doubles title.
He has also won all three of the ATP finals he’s competed in, adding to his titles in Metz and Hong Kong.
Johnson and Arends have risen eight places in the ATP Doubles Team Rankings to No.10 – with the top eight teams at the end of the season qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals.
The week also marked a strong performance from GB Davis Cup duo Salisbury and Skupski, who reached their second final this season.
Skupski also marked his 300th ATP victory earlier in the week – a big milestone for the former world No.1 and Wimbledon champion.
Both teams will now turn their attention to the Mutua Madrid Open starting next week – read our full preview.
