Skupski samples the highs and lows of Wimbledon

Jun 26 2009 by Mike Torpey, Liverpool Daily Post

KEN SKUPSKI went from a crushing low to flying high at Wimbledon last night.

Liverpool’s Skupski and men’s doubles partner Colin Fleming were dumped out in five-sets by Johan Brunstrom and Jean-Julien Rojer at the All England Club.

They had looked on course to continue their recent impressive form – which saw them beat world number ones the Bryan brothers just two weeks ago.

But after racing into a two set lead, the occasion seemed to get the better of them and they went down 6-7, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 in a match that lasted nearly four hours.

However, Skupski was soon back on court – and this time there was no mistake, as he partnered Katie O’Brien to a 6-4, 6-3 mixed doubles win over Ashley Fisher and Abigail Spears.

“I was a little bit disappointed that I only had an hour between my men’s doubles and my mixed but the best way to get over a loss is to get back on court,” he admitted.

“It’s a lot easier to get back on court at Wimbledon than it is anywhere else.”

Despite the mixed doubles success Skupski will be disappointed by his failure to progress in his priority men’s doubles event.

His fledgling partnership with Fleming is showing signs of real promise, with some suggesting the the in-form partnership could be selected for the British Davis Cup team to face Poland in Liverpool later this year.

And a win would have set up a second round date with top seeds the Bryans – an encounter guaranteed to be spicy after their recent match at Queen’s Club.

“You win some, you lose some but if you keep putting yourself in the mixer with the top guys, then you are going to get chances,” added Skupski.

“Beating the Bryans was awesome and we’ll never forget that – it was just a shame we lost because we would have faced them again.”

Skupski decided to focus his attention on doubles after repeated failure to break into the singles circuit.

He said: “I chose to play doubles because I was better at it than singles and my ranking proved that,” he added. I was never inside 500 and I never thought or believed I was good enough.”

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