Skupski Brothers Best Granollers/Zeballos For Acapulco Trophy
Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski stormed to their first title of the year with a victory over top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos on Saturday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.
The British pair converted both break points they created against Granollers and Zeballos, edging to a 7-6(3), 6-4 victory in an hour and 34 minutes. The win sealed their third title together, and their first since 2019 in Budapest.
The brothers, who hail from Liverpool, parted ways in 2019 after a long partnership, with 31-year-old Neal going on to partner countryman Jamie Murray and 37-year-old Ken pairing with Santiago Gonzalez. They reunited to start this season, and celebrated their fourth trophy as a team on Saturday.
“I’d like to thank Neal, actually,” Ken acknowledged in the on-court ceremony. “It’s been a long road since we sort of broke up and got back together. This is a magic moment for both of us.”
The pair lifted Acapulco’s signature silver gourd trophy after going through both of the tournament’s top two seeds. They also upset second seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares in the quarter-finals.
Ken, a father of three, dedicated the trophy to his son Taylor.
“It’s my son’s eighth birthday today, so I’d like to mention him…” Ken said. “We don’t have anybody here with us this week, but we have a lot of people at home watching us and a lot of great support from the internet as well.”
[WATCH LIVE 2]The Skupski brothers had to recover from a break down against top seeds Granollers and Zeballos, who were competing in just their second tournament together in 2021. The pair applied the pressure on the Spanish-Argentine team, and found the cracks. A missed smash from Granollers and Zeballos after a scrambling point handed the Brits the opening set.
The top seeds looked rattled for the next few games, misfiring again at crucial moments to hand over an early break. By the time the Spanish-Argentine team righted the ship, Skupski and Skupski were ahead 3-1. They served out the victory to claim their first ATP Tour trophy of the year.