ATP Finals: Salisbury/Skupski stay perfect, close in on semifinals

Turin (Italy), Nov 12 (IANS) Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski continued to underline their intent at the ATP Finals on Wednesday, when they secured another clinical victory to move to the brink of semifinal qualification in the men's doubles section.

The British duo delivered a superb performance to defeat second seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten 7-6(7), 3-6, 10-7 after one hour, 43 minutes in their second round-robin clash. Salisbury required a medical timeout during the first set but — with strong support of Skupski — maintained his sharp reactions late in the Match Tie-break to extend his winning streak at the prestigious season finale to 12 matches, having won consecutive titles with Rajeev Ram in 2022-23.

With their victory, Salisbury and Skupski improved to 2-0 in the John McEnroe Group. They can qualify for the semifinals later on Wednesday if Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic defeat Christian Harrison and Evan King.

The decisive moment of the match came at 7/7 in the Match Tie-break, when Salisbury guided a forehand return winner past Patten to clip the outer edge of the line. It was one of three consecutive points to win the match and level their Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Heliovaara/Patten at 2-2.

“It was a very good level throughout, there were fine margins,” Skupski was quoted as saying by the ATP Tour in a report. “We know as a team that we’ve fought hard all year, and when it comes to tie-breaks, we just fight until the end. We’ve had crucial matches throughout the year, and that’s helped us along the way.”

Salisbury and Skupski are making their team debut at the ATP Finals following a rock-solid 2025 season, during which they reached five finals, including at Roland Garros and the US Open. They now boast a 57-26 record on the year, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and will face Harrison and King in their final group-stage clash on Friday.

--IANS

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