British pair Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski produced a spirited fightback to overcome India’s Yuki Bhambri and New Zealand’s Michael Venus in the men’s doubles semifinals of the US Open on Friday.
After dropping the opening set in a tie-break, the third-seeded Salisbury–Skupski duo battled back to clinch a 6(2)-7, 7-6(5), 6-4 win, booking their place in the championship match at Flushing Meadows.
The opening set was evenly poised, with both teams locked at 3-3 before Bhambri and Venus pulled ahead. They carried that momentum into the tie-break, racing away with a dominant 7-2 score to claim the lead.
The second set saw Bhambri and Venus once again secure an early break, but the British pair refused to yield. Their resilience forced another tie-break, which they edged 7-5 to level the contest.
In the deciding set, Salisbury and Skupski capitalised on a crucial break of serve, holding their nerve to complete the turnaround with a 6-4 finish.
Despite the defeat, Bhambri and Venus enjoyed a strong campaign in New York. They began with a commanding 6-0, 6-3 victory over Marcos Giron and Learner Tien, followed by a second-round win against Gonzalo Escobar and Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela. The Indo–Kiwi pair continued their impressive form by eliminating Germany’s Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz in the round of 16 and then upsetting Nikola Mektic and Rajeev Ram in the quarterfinals.
Their run ended at the hands of the British duo, who displayed grit and composure under pressure to move into the US Open final.
