Fourth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo defeated the British wildcards Neal Skupski and Ken Skupski 7-6(11), 6-4, 6-4 to progress to the semifinals at Wimbledon. They will now face the number one seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers.
Kubot/Melo come through tight set on a tiebreaker
The match got underway with a hold of serve from Marcelo Melo. Ken Skupski got the brothers on the board at 1-1. The Pole Kubot also held his serve for 2-1. With Neal Skupski the only player left to hold his first serve, the fourth seeds applied pressure, taking a 30-40 lead following an unforced error. With the wind playing a major factor early on in the match, Neal Skupski served up a second straight double fault to gift a break point to the fourth seeds, 3-1.
But the British brothers fought immediately back to gain a break back point with excellent hand skills at the net, 30-40. At the first time of asking, they broke back with the Brazilian's pickup going beyond the baseline. The Liverpool-born brothers consolidated the break back to level the set at 3-3, showing their fighting abilities.
Both teams then began to look comfortable on serve, serving well and striking the ball with comfort until the 11th game with the big Pole serving. After losing the first point with an ace, the Skupski's won four straight points in a row including a clean return winner to bring up two break points. A missed lob and a unreturnable serve brought the game to deuce before Kubot held to go 6-5 up.
The Skupski's also held serve to force a tiebreaker. In a lengthy tiebreaker, the Skupski Brothers had three set points saved while the Pole/Brazilian Had three saved but managed to break the British and earn a fourth at 12-11. A stunning unreturnable first serve from Melo gave he and Kubot the set, 7-6(11).
Kubot/Melo take control early on for a two-set lead
Having won the first set, the fourth seeds began to pile even more pressure to the Skupski's, who was serving first in the set. Kubot/Melo raced away with the game, picking up triple breaks point straight away. A good second serve from Ken Skupski saved the first break point which was followed by a fantastic forehand passing show winner down the line from Neal Skupski to save the second of three break points.
But they were broken in the next point with an unfortunate fourth double fault of the match. A comfortable hold of love from Lukasz Kubot gave them a comfortable 2-0 lead. Despite being troubled on serve, the British brothers once again, showed fight to get on the board in the second at 2-1.
A couple of games later with the fourth seeds ahead at 3-2, the wildcarded pair tried applying their own pressure and even sent the game to 30-all but Neal Skupski, who chased down a Melo smashed narrowly missed what would have been shot of the tournament if not the year by hitting a forehand from the corner of the court. Kubot won the next point and held serve to stay the break ahead, 4-2.
Both teams then began serving quickly and confidently and with the Pole/Brazilian pair a break in front, they were left serving for the set at 5-4. In quick time, they went love-40 up and just like all throughout the match, the Skupski's fought to save two set points but couldn't save a third with the fourth seeds taking a two-set lead, 6-4.
Kubot/Melo finish off the Skupski Brothers; advances to semifinal
The third set started in the same fashion as the second. The fourth seeds grabbed a break point with Kubot slicing a volley winner away from Ken Skupski to take their break point. The Brits continued to fight and took the game to 30-all but again, could find no answers as the fourth seeds consolidated with a lucky net cord to take a 2-0 lead.
With Ken Skupski serving this time, they got on the board with a comfortable, quick and easy hold of serve to love, 2-1. The Pole/Brazilian despite being ahead, was always being tested by the wildcarded Brits.
Having taken the Brits to 30all and narrowly missing a break point chance, the Pole/Brazilian in the eighth game up 4-3 were taken themselves to deuce after a 40-15 lead. But the big-serving Pole got he and Melo out of trouble leaving the Skupski's serving to stay in the match only temporarily, which they did coming from 15-30 behind to hold.
Now serving for the match, Marcelo Melo and Lukasz Kubot went 40-15 up, with two match points on their side. One of them was saved but the fourth seeds advanced with a Kubot drop shot.