Historic Achievement at Queen’s
Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash have made a significant mark in tennis history by clinching the men’s doubles title at Queen’s, becoming the first British duo to achieve this feat in the Open era. They triumphed over Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus in a closely contested match that concluded with a match tie-break.
The final score revealed a hard-fought 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 10-6 victory for the Brits, contributing to their impressive tally of three ATP Tour titles this season, and a total of four since their partnership was established last year.
Reflections on Their Performance
Cash expressed optimism, stating, “It’s been a great year so far. It’s really nice to start the grass season strong. Hopefully, we can push on to a good run at Wimbledon.”
The match started favorably for the pair, dominating the first set and gaining the lead in the second before Mektic and Venus rallied to force a tie-break, which they narrowly won. However, in the decisive match tie-break—played to 10 points—Glasspool and Cash seized momentum with an early mini-break, ultimately sealing their victory on their first match point.
Glasspool, who was a finalist at the same venue last year alongside Harri Heliovaara, expressed confidence in their teamwork, stating, “I think we’ve been a really strong team this year, and hopefully, he [Julian] can continue making these tie-breaks a lot easier when he serves and the ball doesn’t come back.”
Preparation for Future Competitions
The win highlights a productive streak on grass for the duo, who also reached the finals in ‘s-Hertogenbosch recently. To continue their preparations for Wimbledon, they are set to compete at Eastbourne next week.
Historically, only a handful of British players, including Andy Murray and the Murray brothers, have achieved doubles success at Queen’s, with the only other all-British partnership to reach this final in the Open era being David and John Lloyd in 1978.
Further British Success on Grass
In related news, there was further British success on grass courts as Olivia Nicholls and her partner from Slovakia, Tereza Mihalikova, secured the women’s title at the Berlin Open. They made a comeback to defeat Italian players Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini with a score of 4-6, 6-2, 10-6, marking their inaugural title win together.
