Ken Skupski

2004

Eight years after he was crowned Wimbledon champion, Richard Krajicek took on Skupski in an exhibition match in Liverpool which was ‘exhibition’ in name only. Skupski tied a closely contested clash one set all, then won a Super TieBreak 10-7.^{[2] [3]}

2008

Skupski was looking for a fellow British doubles partner who was capable of going to the top of the game. Colin Fleming had turned pro in September and Skupski thought Fleming's game style suited his. Skupski took a bit of a hit because his ranking 250 was much higher than Fleming's at around 900, and so they came to play some low-level Futures and went on a great run.^[4] The pair came to be known as 'Flemski'.^[5]

Fleming/Skupski won three Futures in Glasgow, London, Sunderland^{[6] [7] [8]} and the Caversham International Challenger in Jersey. ^[9]

Ken Skupski finished the year there because he'd had a long year, but Fleming continued by partnering Jonny Marray in the Czech Republic and winning two Futures in Frydland Nad Ostravici,^[10] and Opava^[11]

2009

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, the Davis Cup Captain John Lloyd announced that Skupski was part of the Great Britain Davis Cup squad for the Europe/Africa Zone Group 1 relegation play-off against Poland, Skupsi was acting as cover for any injuries and helping the team prepare for Poland's world top-10 ranked doubles team, but didn't play.^[12] Great Britain lost 3-2, and were relegated to Group II of the Davis Cup.

In September 2009 he won 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

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.

The new Davis Cup Captain Leon Smith selected Skupski to take part in Great Britain's vital Davis Cup tie vs Turkey, at Eastbourne, in July alongside Colin Fleming, James Ward, Jamie Baker, and Alex Ward. Defeat would have meant Great Britain's relegation to Europe Zone Group III, the lowest tier of the competition. Skupski and Colin Fleming secured the 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win that gave Britain an unassailable 3-0 lead, ending a run of five straight defeats, giving Great Britain a first Davis Cup win in three years.^[13][14]

In October, at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, England's Skupski and Ross Hutchins won the Doubles Silver Medal, by losing to Australians Paul Hanley and Peter Luczak in the final.^[15] A few days later, Skupski and Ross Hutchins were opponents in the Mixed Doubles, Skupski and Sarah Borwell beating Ross Hutchins and Anna Smith to win the Bronze Medal. Skupski and Borwell who had never played together ahead of the Indian event were brought together by their shared coach, Louis Cayer. ^[16]

Following the Commonwealth Games, Skupski and Colin Fleming decided to end their partnership after a poor run of results.^[5] Their final tournament was St. Petersburg where they were beaten in the first round.

2011

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

At the Australian Open in January, Skupski partnered Xavier Malisse where 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 brothers. 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

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.

2014

The Skupski brothers ranking as a partnership was not high enough to guarantee entry at the French Open, so they split to give themselves a better chance of qualifying. Ken partnered New Zealander Michael Venus, a fellow Louisiana State University alumni, while Neal teamed up with American Bradley Klahn, though they all lost in the first round.^[17]

2015

In July, Neal Skupski was busy playing World Team tennis in the US, so Skupski partnered Divij Sharan, clinching the doubles title in the Euro 42,500 men’s Challenger tennis tournament, with a 4-6, 7-6(3), 10-6 victory over fourth seeds Ilija Bozoljac of Serbia and Flavio Cipolla of Italy, in Recanati, Italy.^[18]

In September, the Skupskis won the St. Remy Challenger title in France, only playing two matches in the event due to opening round byes and a Semi-Final walkover. There were just 23 sets and three match breakers in the entire doubles event. They were the top seeds and beat the second seeds Andrej Martin and Igor Zelenay in the final, 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles: 11 (4 titles, 7 runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Sep 2009	Open de Moselle, France	250 Series	Hard (i)	Colin Fleming	Arnaud Clément Michaël Llodra	2–6, 6–4, [10–5]
Win	2–0	Nov 2009	St. Petersburg Open, Russia	250 Series	Hard (i)	Colin Fleming	Jérémy Chardy Richard Gasquet	2–6, 7–5, [10–4]
Loss	2–1	Jun 2010	Eastbourne International, United Kingdom	250 Series	Grass	Colin Fleming	Mariusz Fyrstenberg Marcin Matkowski	3–6, 7–5, [8–10]
Win	3–1	Feb 2011	Open 13, France	250 Series	Hard (i)	Robin Haase	Julien Benneteau Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	6–4, 6–7(4–7), [13–11]
Loss	3–2	Jun 2012	Eastbourne International, United Kingdom	250 Series	Grass	Jamie Delgado	Colin Fleming Ross Hutchins	4–6, 3–6
Loss	3–3	Jul 2012	Los Angeles Open, United States	250 Series	Hard	Jamie Delgado	Ruben Bemelmans Xavier Malisse	6–7(5–7), 6–4, [7–10]
Loss	3–4	Oct 2013	Kremlin Cup, Russia	250 Series	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Mikhail Elgin Denis Istomin	2–6, 6–1, [12–14]
Loss	3–5	Aug 2016	Los Cabos Open, Mexico	250 Series	Hard	Jonathan Erlich	Purav Raja Divij Sharan	6–7(4–7), 6–7(3–7)
Win	4–5	Feb 2018	Open Sud de France, France	250 Series	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Ben McLachlan Hugo Nys	7–6(7–2), 6–4
Loss	4–6	Jun 2018	Eastbourne International, United Kingdom	250 Series	Grass	Neal Skupski	Luke Bambridge Jonny O'Mara	5–7, 4–6
Loss	4–7	Sep 2018	Moselle Open, France	250 Series	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Nicolas Mahut Édouard Roger-Vasselin	1–6, 5–7

Singles: 2 (1–1)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Nov 2007	Great Britain F22, Sunderland	Futures	Hard (i)	Adrian Mannarino	4–6, 3–6
Win	1–1	May 2008	Greece F2, Heraklion	Futures	Carpet	David Canudas-Fernandez	6–3, 6–3

Doubles: 72 (44–28)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Aug 2004	Great Britain F3, Wrexham	Futures	Hard	Richard Bloomfield	Josh Goodall Miles Kasiri	6–2, 6–4
Loss	1–1	Aug 2004	Great Britain F4, Hampstead	Futures	Hard	Richard Bloomfield	Richard Barker William Barker	3–6, 1–6
Win	2–1	Sep 2007	Great Britain F16, Foxhills	Futures	Hard	Robert Searle	Yaoki Ishii Satoshi Iwabuchi	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win	3–1	Sep 2007	Sweden F5, Falun	Futures	Hard (i)	Ralph Grambow	Raphael Durek Pablo Figueroa	6–4, 6–2
Win	4–1	Oct 2007	Great Britain F20, Glasgow	Futures	Hard (i)	Josh Goodall	Ladislav Chramosta Dan Evans	7–6(7–5), 7–6(9–7)
Win	5–1	Nov 2007	Great Britain F21, Redbridge	Futures	Hard (i)	Josh Goodall	Ruben Bemelmans Niels Desein	5–7, 7–6(7–3), [10–5]
Win	6–1	Jan 2008	Great Britain F1, Sunderland	Futures	Hard (i)	Richard Bloomfield	Ralph Grambow Tom Rushby	6–1, 6–4
Loss	6–2	Jan 2008	Great Britain F2, Sheffield	Futures	Hard (i)	Chris Eaton	Jiří Krkoška Purav Raja	6–7(7–9), 6–7(4–7)
Loss	6–3	Mar 2008	Wolfsburg, Germany	Challenger	Carpet (i)	Richard Bloomfield	Carsten Ball Izak van der Merwe	6–7(5–7), 3–6
Loss	6–4	Mar 2008	Great Britain F4, Bath	Futures	Hard (i)	Richard Bloomfield	Neil Bamford Josh Goodall	1–6, 6–3, [8–10]
Win	7–4	Mar 2008	Great Britain F5, Saint Peter	Futures	Hard (i)	Ralph Grambow	Neil Bamford Josh Goodall	7–6(9–7), 6–3
Loss	7–5	Apr 2008	Great Britain F6, Exmouth	Futures	Hard (i)	Ralph Grambow	Harri Heliövaara Henri Kontinen	2–6, 2–6
Win	8–5	May 2008	Great Britain F7, Bournemouth	Futures	Clay	Ludovic Walter	Edward Seator Daniel Smethurst	7–6(7–2), 2–6, [10–6]
Loss	8–6	May 2008	Kuwait F1, Mishref	Futures	Hard	Rohan Gajjar	Mohammad Ghareeb Johan Ortegren	4–6, 6–3, [7–10]
Win	9–6	Oct 2008	Great Britain F16, Glasgow	Futures	Hard (i)	Colin Fleming	Ivan Cerović Daniel Danilovic	6–4, 6–4
Win	10–6	Nov 2008	Great Britain F17, Campden Hill	Futures	Hard (i)	Colin Fleming	Ivan Cerović Daniel Danilovic	6–4, 7–6(9–7)
Win	11–6	Nov 2008	Great Britain F18, Sunderland	Futures	Hard (i)	Colin Fleming	Ivan Cerović Daniel Danilovic	6–2, 6–1
Win	12–6	Nov 2008	Jersey, Channel Islands	Challenger	Hard (i)	Colin Fleming	Chris Guccione Márcio Torres	6–3, 6–2
Win	13–6	Feb 2009	Ivory Coast F2, Abidjan	Futures	Hard	Colin Fleming	Pierre-Ludovic Duclos Andreas Haider-Maurer	6–3, 7–6(7–3)
Win	14–6	Feb 2009	Wolfsburg, Germany	Challenger	Carpet (i)	Travis Rettenmaier	Sergei Bubka Alexander Kudryavtsev	6–3, 6–4
Win	15–6	Mar 2009	Great Britain F4, Bath	Futures	Hard (i)	Colin Fleming	Fritz Wolmarans Michael Yani	6–4, 6–4
Loss	15–7	Mar 2009	Jersey, Channel Islands	Challenger	Hard (i)	Colin Fleming	Eric Butorac Travis Rettenmaier	4–6, 3–6
Loss	15–8	Apr 2009	Tallahassee, US	Challenger	Hard	Colin Fleming	Eric Butorac Scott Lipsky	1–6, 4–6
Win	16–8	May 2009	Cremona, Italy	Challenger	Hard	Colin Fleming	Daniele Bracciali Alessandro Motti	6–2, 6–1
Loss	16–9	Jun 2009	Nottingham, UK	Challenger	Grass	Colin Fleming	Eric Butorac Scott Lipsky	4–6, 4–6
Loss	16–10	Jul 2009	Pozoblanco, Spain	Challenger	Hard	Colin Fleming	Karol Beck Jaroslav Levinský	6–2, 6–7(5–7), [7–10]
Loss	16–11	Jul 2009	Manchester, UK	Challenger	Grass	Colin Fleming	Josh Goodall Jonathan Marray	7–6(7–1), 3–6, [9–11]
Win	17–11	Aug 2009	Granby, Canada	Challenger	Hard	Colin Fleming	Amir Hadad Harel Levy	6–3, 7–6(8–6)
Win	18–11	Oct 2009	Orléans, France	Challenger	Hard (i)	Colin Fleming	Sébastien Grosjean Olivier Patience	6–1, 6–1
Win	19–11	Mar 2010	Jersey, Channel Islands (2)	Challenger	Hard (i)	Rohan Bopanna	Jonathan Marray Jamie Murray	6–2, 2–6, [10–6]
Win	20–11	Jun 2010	Nottingham, UK	Challenger	Grass	Colin Fleming	Eric Butorac Scott Lipsky	7–6(7–3), 6–4
Loss	20–12	Nov 2010	Loughborough, UK	Challenger	Hard (i)	Jordan Kerr	Henri Kontinen Frederik Nielsen	2–6, 4–6
Win	21–12	Feb 2011	Bergamo, Italy	Challenger	Hard (i)	Frederik Nielsen	Mikhail Elgin Alexander Kudryavtsev	Walkover
Win	22–12	Jul 2011	Recanati, Italy	Challenger	Hard (i)	Frederik Nielsen	Federico Gaio Purav Raja	6–4, 7–5
Win	23–12	Oct 2011	Mons, Belgium	Challenger	Hard (i)	Johan Brunström	Kenny de Schepper Édouard Roger-Vasselin	7–6(7–4), 6–3
Win	24–12	Feb 2012	Bergamo, Italy (2)	Challenger	Hard (i)	Jamie Delgado	Martin Fischer Philipp Oswald	7–5, 7–5
Loss	24–13	Mar 2012	Bath, UK	Challenger	Hard (i)	Jamie Delgado	Martin Fischer Philipp Oswald	4–6, 4–6
Win	25–13	May 2012	Rome, Italy	Challenger	Clay	Jamie Delgado	Adrián Menéndez Maceiras Walter Trusendi	6–1, 6–4
Loss	25–14	Sep 2012	Orléans, France	Challenger	Hard (i)	Xavier Malisse	Lukáš Dlouhý Gilles Müller	2–6, 7–6(7–5), [7–10]
Win	26–14	Jan 2013	Great Britain F2, Portsmouth	Futures	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Sam Barry Colin O'Brien	3–6, 6–3, [10–5]
Loss	26–15	Feb 2013	Quimper, France	Challenger	Hard (i)	Jamie Delgado	Johan Brunström Raven Klaasen	6–3, 2–6, [3–10]
Win	27–15	May 2013	Italy F6, Pozzuoli	Futures	Clay	Neal Skupski	Oliver Golding Denys Mylokostov	6–3, 6–3
Loss	27–16	Jun 2013	Nottingham, UK	Challenger	Grass	Neal Skupski	Jamie Murray John Peers	2–6, 7–6(7–3), [6–10]
Win	28–16	Jul 2013	Recanati, Italy (2)	Challenger	Hard	Neal Skupski	Gianluigi Quinzi Adelchi Virgili	6–4, 6–3
Win	29–16	Aug 2013	Segovia, Spain	Challenger	Hard	Neal Skupski	Mikhail Elgin Uladzimir Ignatik	6–3, 6–7(4–7), [10–6]
Win	30–16	Sep 2013	Pétange, Luxembourg	Challenger	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Benjamin Becker Tobias Kamke	6–3, 6–7(5–7), [10–7]
Win	31–16	Sep 2013	Szczecin, Poland	Challenger	Clay	Neal Skupski	Andrea Arnaboldi Alessandro Giannessi	6–4, 1–6, [10–7]
Loss	31–17	Jan 2014	Talheim, Germany	Challenger	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Tomasz Bednarek Henri Kontinen	6–3, 6–7(3–7), [10–12]
Win	32–17	Sep 2014	İzmir, Turkey	Challenger	Hard	Neal Skupski	Malek Jaziri Alexander Kudryavtsev	6–1, 6–4
Win	33–17	Nov 2014	Bratislava, Slovakia	Challenger	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Norbert Gombos Adam Pavlásek	6–3, 7–6(7–3)
Win	34–17	Jun 2015	Surbiton, UK	Challenger	Grass	Neal Skupski	Marcus Daniell Marcelo Demoliner	6–3, 6–4
Loss	34–18	Jun 2015	Ilkley, UK	Challenger	Grass	Neal Skupski	Marcus Daniell Marcelo Demoliner	6–7(3–7), 4–6
Win	35–18	Jul 2015	Recanati, Italy (3)	Challenger	Hard	Divij Sharan	Ilija Bozoljac Flavio Cipolla	4–6, 7–6(7–3), [10–6]
Win	36–18	Sep 2015	Saint-Rémy, France	Challenger	Hard	Neal Skupski	Andrej Martin Igor Zelenay	6–4, 6–1
Loss	36–19	Oct 2015	Orléans, France	Challenger	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Tristan Lamasine Fabrice Martin	4–6, 6–7(2–7)
Loss	36–20	Oct 2015	Brest, France	Challenger	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Wesley Koolhof Matwé Middelkoop	6–3, 4–6, [6–10]
Loss	36–21	Nov 2015	Eckental, Germany	Challenger	Carpet (i)	Neal Skupski	Ruben Bemelmans Philipp Petzschner	5–7, 2–6
Loss	36–22	Nov 2015	Bratislava, Slovakia	Challenger	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Ilija Bozoljac Igor Zelenay	6–7(3–7), 6–4, [5–10]
Win	37–22	Feb 2016	Bergamo, Italy (3)	Challenger	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Nikola Mektić Antonio Šančić	6–3, 7–5
Win	38–22	Feb 2016	Cherbourg, France	Challenger	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Yoshihito Nishioka Aldin Šetkić	4–6, 6–3, [10–6]
Loss	38–23	Jun 2016	Manchester, UK	Challenger	Grass	Neal Skupski	Purav Raja Divij Sharan	3–6, 6–3, [9–11]
Loss	38–24	Jun 2016	Surbiton, UK	Challenger	Grass	Neal Skupski	Purav Raja Divij Sharan	4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Win	39–24	Sep 2016	Saint-Rémy, France (2)	Challenger	Hard	Neal Skupski	David O'Hare Joe Salisbury	6–7(5–7), 6–4, [10–5]
Win	40–24	Nov 2016	Bratislava, Slovakia (2)	Challenger	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Purav Raja Divij Sharan	4–6, 6–3, [10–5]
Loss	40–25	Feb 2017	Quimper, France	Challenger	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Mikhail Elgin Igor Zelenay	6–2, 5–7, [5–10]
Win	41–25	May 2017	Venice, Italy	Challenger	Clay	Neal Skupski	Julian Knowle Igor Zelenay	5–7, 6–4, [10–5]
Win	42–25	Jun 2017	Nottingham, UK	Challenger	Grass	Neal Skupski	Matt Reid John-Patrick Smith	7–6(7–1), 2–6, [10–7]
Loss	42–26	Nov 2017	Eckental, Germany	Challenger	Carpet (i)	Neal Skupski	Sander Arends Roman Jebavý	2–6, 4–6
Win	43–26	Nov 2017	Bratislava, Slovakia (3)	Challenger	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Sander Arends Antonio Šančić	5–7, 6–3, [10–8]
Win	44–26	Feb 2018	Quimper, France	Challenger	Hard (i)	Neal Skupski	Sander Gillé Joran Vliegen	6–3, 3–6, [10–7]
Loss	44–27	Feb 2018	Cherbourg, France	Challenger	Hard (i)	Antonio Šančić	Romain Arneodo Tristan-Samuel Weissborn	3–6, 6–1, [4–10]
Loss	44–28	Jun 2018	Surbiton, UK	Challenger	Grass	Neal Skupski	Luke Bambridge Jonny O'Mara	6–7(11–13), 6–4, [7–10]