Ken Skupski
 Ken Skupski playing at Wimbledon 2013 | |
| Country |
 Great Britain  England |
|---|---|
| Residence | Liverpool, England |
| Born |
9 April 1983 Liverpool, England |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Turned pro | 2001 |
| Plays | Left-handed (2-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $438,785 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 0–0 |
| Career titles |
0 0 Challengers, 1 Futures |
| Highest ranking | No. 527 (23 June 2008) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Wimbledon | Q1 (2008) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 61–74 (ATP (World) Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Highest ranking | No. 44 (12 July 2010) |
| Current ranking | No. 92 (17 November 2014) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (2010) |
| French Open | 2R (2010) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2010, 2012) |
| US Open | 3R (2012) |
| Mixed Doubles | |
| Career record | 3–3 (50% in ATP (World) Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches) |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2012 |
| Last updated on: 22 November 2014. | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for England
| ||
| Men's Tennis | ||
| Commonwealth Games | ||
| Silver | 2010 Delhi | Men's Doubles |
| Bronze | 2010 Delhi | Mixed Doubles |
Ken Skupski (born 9 April 1983 in Liverpool, England) is an English professional tennis player who lives in Liverpool, England. He is best known as a doubles player, most successfully partnering Colin Fleming. Having played college tennis at the Louisiana State University, he turned professional in 2007. His breakthrough year was 2009, when he won his first two ATP tournaments and broke into the world's top 50 doubles players.
Early life
Ken Skupski was born in Liverpool but learned his trade in America at the Louisiana State University. He was an NCAA Doubles finalist 2005 and Two-time Southeastern Conference Coaches Indoor Champion (only player in the history of the Southeastern Conference to win back-to-back titles). He also won the fourth highest number of matches in the school's history with 107 wins. He was six-time All-American Champion (two Singles, one Doubles and three Academic).
Tennis career
2009 season
In June 2009, Skupski and Colin Fleming beat the world no. 1 ranked doubles pair, Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan, at the Queen's Club grass court tournament. However he was out in the first round at Wimbledon for the second year in a row in five sets having led by two sets to love, again he partnered Fleming. He did however make into the second round of the mixed doubles losing in straight sets. In September 2009 he did win at the Open de Moselle in France. Again partnering Fleming they won 2–6, 6–4, 10–5, against the defending champion, Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra. Two months later they won their second title at the St Petersburg Open, defeating another French team of Jérémy Chardy and Richard Gasquet in the final in three sets 2–6, 7–5, 10–4.
2010 season
In January 2010, Skupski competed at his first Grand Slam outside of Wimbledon at the Australian Open. Again partnering Fleming they made it into the second before losing in three sets to Michael Kohlmann and Jarkko Nieminen 6–3, 4–6, 3–6. At the French Open he repeated his feat at the Australian open by losing in at the second in three sets to fourth seeds Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–7(4–7), again he partnered Fleming. In June, Skupski reached the final of Eastbourne Open but lost in the final to Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski in three sets partnering Colin Fleming. Following his successful run at the Eastbourne Open he finally got a win at Wimbledon in the first round, but again lost in the second to the much more experienced and second seeds the Bryan brothers in straight sets, he was partnering Fleming. For the first time in his career he competed at all four Grand Slams in the same year, but at the US Open, Skupski and Fleming lost in the first round in straight sets.
2011 season
In January at the Australian Open Skupski this time partnering Travis Parrott lost in the first round in straight sets. In February, Skupski partnered Robin Haase at the Marseille Open. They reached the final and won the title defeating Julien Benneteau and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6–3, 6–7(4–7), [13–11]. This was his first title in a year and a half. At the French Open, Skupski again lost in the first round in straight sets to his old partner Fleming 4–6, 4–6, this time he was partnering Igor Zelenay. At Wimbledon again he lost in the first round in straight sets, he was partnering Robin Haase, In Mixed Doubles, he partnered Elena Baltacha where they got to the second round but lost in straight sets to fifteenth seeds Andy Ram and Meghann Shaughnessy 4–6, 4–6.
2012 season
At the Australian Open in January, Skupski partnered Xavier Malisse were they lost in the first round in straight sets. This was Skupski's fifth first round exit in a row without taking a single set. In mid June, Skupski for the second time got to the final of Aegon International partnering Jamie Delgado, but lost to fellow Brits Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins 4–6, 3–6. This was his first final in over a year. At Wimbledon, Skupski finally broke his grand slam curse by making it into the second round for the first time in two years after winning a grilling five setter in the first round. But unfortunately for Skupski and new doubles partner Jamie Delgado they faced the heavy task of the Bryan bothers. They were unable to defeat them and they lost in straight sets 6–7(2–7), 0–6, 2–6. He also competed in the mixed doubles event partnering Melanie South. They made it into the third round but were defeated by third seeds Nenad Zimonjić and Katarina Srebotnik in three tough sets 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–9. A month after Wimbledon, Skupski and Delgado got into their second final of the season at the Farmers Classic. They lost in three sets to Belgium duo Ruben Bemelmans and Xavier Malisse 6–7(5–7), 6–4, [10–7]. At the US Open Skupski, with full-time partner Jamie Delgado made it to the third round before losing to Spanish sixth seeds Marcel Granollers and Marc López in straight sets 2–6, 4–6. In the second round they defeated the defending champions Jürgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner in straight sets.
2013 season
Although initially partnering with Delgado, Skupski increasingly played during 2013 with his brother Neal. Due to Neal's lower ranking, the pair played in a number of Futures and Challenger tournaments, winning six tournaments at the Challenger level. At the Kremlin Cup they entered their first ATP level tournament, reaching the final. At Grand Slam events, Skupski competed with some of his former partners, reaching the second round once again at Wimbledon, with Xavier Malisse.
ATP career finals
Doubles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runners-up)
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| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Winner | 1. | 22 September 2009 | Open de Moselle, Metz, France | Hard (i) | Colin Fleming |
 Arnaud Clément Michaël Llodra |
2–6, 6–4, [10–5] |
| Winner | 2. | 1 November 2009 | St. Petersburg Open, St. Petersburg, Russia | Hard (i) | Colin Fleming |
Jérémy Chardy Richard Gasquet |
2–6, 7–5, [10–4] |
| Runner-up | 1. | 19 June 2010 | Aegon International, Eastbourne, Great Britain | Grass | Colin Fleming |
 Mariusz Fyrstenberg Marcin Matkowski |
3–6, 7–5, [8–10] |
| Winner | 3. | 20 February 2011 | Open 13, Marseille, France | Hard (i) |  Robin Haase |
Julien Benneteau Jo-Wilfried Tsonga |
6–3, 6–7(4–7), [13–11] |
| Runner-up | 2. | 22 June 2012 | Aegon International, Eastbourne, Great Britain | Grass | Jamie Delgado |
Colin Fleming Ross Hutchins |
3–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 29 July 2012 | Farmers Classic, Los Angeles, United States | Hard | Jamie Delgado |
.svg.png){kind=small} Ruben Bemelmans Xavier Malisse |
6–7(5–7), 6–4, [7-10] |
| Runner-up | 4. | 19 October 2013 | Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia | Hard (i) | Neal Skupski |
 Mikhail Elgin Denis Istomin |
2–6, 6–1, [12–14] |
Men's Doubles
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.
| Tournament | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 1–4 |
| French Open | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | 1–4 |
| Wimbledon | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 3–6 | |
| US Open | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2–3 | |
| Grand Slam Win–Loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 0–4 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 7–17 |
Personal life
Skupski is a big fan of Liverpool Football Club and is a keen golfer who plays as often as he can and has a handicap of six. Ken has a younger brother, Neal, who also plays tennis.
External links
- Ken Skupski at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Ken Skupski at the International Tennis Federation
- Ken Skupski at the Davis Cup
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