Skupskis book last eight spot ... and a hotel!
IT IS safe to say brothers Ken and Neal Skupski did not expect to be at the All England Club for two weeks — because they only booked their Airbnb for one! Wildcards Ken, 34, and Neal, 27, are becoming one of Wimbledon’s unlikely success stories with family spirit and a few football chants from court-side friends taking them far. The Liverpudlians are now in the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles after beating Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner and Marcus Daniell of New Zealand 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 yesterday. They are proud Liverpool fans, so Ken isn’t overly pleased to now be staying in the hotel attached to Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, but that will be his home as long as they are at Wimbledon. ‘We moved out to a hotel, booked for two days and we’re going to have to book some more now,’ Neal said. ‘We’re playing with a lot of confidence. We’ll give it a go.’ Ken adds: ‘To play as brothers is a great experience for the whole family, not just ourselves. And it’s my 10th year. I’m getting on now so I’ve got to make the most of it whenever I can.’ Father Ken and mother Mary were on Court No 3 to watch their sons reach their first Grand Slam quarter-final. Ken Jnr and Neal follow their team avidly and watch matches when competing abroad at all hours. They keep up with Fantasy Football too and the older brother cheekily suggests he’ll sign Wayne Rooney. ‘He’ll be on my bench — like he is at Everton,’ he says. The brothers now face the No 4 seeds, Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, of Poland and Brazil respectively. And top seeds Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis are into the last eight of the mixed doubles after beating Lucie Hradecka and Roman Jebavy 6-3, 6-4.