GB's Salisbury & Skupski beaten in doubles final
Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski's bid to become Great Britain's first French Open men's doubles champions since 1933 ended in disappointment as they were beaten 6-0 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 by Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the final.The match got off to the worst possible start for the British pair when they were broken three times and on the wrong end of a bagel in the opening set.They came out with renewed energy and greater resilience in the second, saving five break points, to eventually force a tie-break.Spain's Granollers and Argentina's Zeballos claimed the first mini-break but Salisbury and Skupski hit straight back with a double mini-break of their own before wrapping up the set.Momentum remained with Liverpool's Skupski and Londoner Salisbury, who only paired up at the start of the season, in the third as they earned a first break of the serve in the opening game.But their opponents broke back immediately to restore parity on Court Philippe Chatrier.Salisbury and Skupski then passed up two break points at 3-3 and failed to convert a further opportunity at 5-5.That missed opportunity was to prove crucial as the experienced Zeballos, 40, and Granollers, 39, then earned three break points in the next game on Skupski's serve. They converted the first to win a first Grand Slam doubles title from their fourth final as a pairing.
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