Sept 12 (Reuters) – Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski beat Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-4 7-6(6) on Saturday to win the U.S. Open men’s doubles title.
The reigning Australian Open champions took the first set after Harrison struck a two-handed backhand return winner to break for a 4-3 lead. The American-British duo held serve the rest of the way to take the set 6-4.
Their German opponents fought back in the second set and moved 3-2 ahead, but Harrison and Skupski responded with a love hold to level at 3-3.
The 2024 runners-up went up 4-3 and later 5-4 after saving a set point, but Harrison and Skupski stayed in contention. Harrison, serving with the sun in his eyes, held in a five-point game to force a tiebreak.
Puetz gave the Germans a 4-3 lead in the breaker with a volley, but Harrison and Skupski recovered. Skupski sealed the victory with a return that forced Krawietz into an error, giving the pair their second Grand Slam doubles title of the year.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
