Koolhof/Skupski Dig Deep For Fifth Title Of Year In ‘s-Hertogenbosch

No matter the surface, Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski are proving hard to stop in 2022.

The second-seeded duo dug deep to clinch a 4-6, 7-5, 10-6 victory over Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell in the final of the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch on Sunday.

It is a first grass-court title for the Dutch-British pair, which has also won trophies on hard in Melbourne, Adelaide and Doha, and on clay in Madrid this year. Sunday’s win solidifies Koolhof and Skupski’s position at the top of the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Team Rankings.

Things didn’t look to be going the second seeds’ way early on in the championship match in The Netherlands. Houston champions Ebden and Purcell claimed the only break of the opening set to move ahead and broke again immediately for 1-0 in the second set to ramp up the pressure on their opponents.

The momentum turned midway through the second set, though, as Koolhof and Skupski first reclaimed the break and then converted their third set point to break again at 6-5 and level proceedings. They continued to dominate early in the Match Tie-break, opening up an initial 6-2 lead that proved unassailable as they sealed their fifth title of the season.

Koolhof and Skupski’s win avenged their quarter-final defeat to Ebden and Purcell in the two teams’ only previous meeting at the Australian Open in January. The duo now holds a 39-9 match record for 2022, placing Koolhof and Skupski in a strong positon to qualify for November’s Nitto ATP Finals in their first year together as a team.