Sixth seeds Neal Skupski and Christian Harrison captured the Australian Open men’s doubles title on Saturday, defeating Australia’s Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans 7-6(4), 6-4 to claim their first Grand Slam trophy together.

The victory at Rod Laver Arena marked Harrison’s maiden Grand Slam title, while Skupski secured the fourth major crown of his career across doubles and mixed doubles — and his first outside Wimbledon.

Remarkably, the British-American pairing is still in its early stages, having only begun playing together two weeks ago in Adelaide after training for a week in Baton Rouge in December.

“We obviously started playing together in Adelaide two weeks ago,” Skupski said. “We didn’t know how it would go, but it seems to be going pretty well so far.”

With the roof closed due to rain, the final was played under lights and at a brisk pace. The opening set remained on serve until Harrison and Skupski earned a break to move 4-2 ahead.

However, backed by a vocal home crowd, Kubler and Polmans — the latter wearing his trademark legionnaire hat — responded by breaking back and leveling the set at 5-5 before forcing a tiebreak.

The tiebreak was tightly contested at 4-4 before Harrison and Skupski edged ahead. Skupski sealed the set with a powerful overhead at the net, silencing the partisan crowd.

In the second set, the British-American duo struck early by breaking Polmans’ serve for a 3-1 lead and maintained control despite strong resistance from the Australians.

They extended their advantage to 5-3 when Harrison finished a sharp volley at the net. Although Kubler and Polmans saved a championship point, Harrison remained composed on serve as the pair closed in on victory.

After missing another opportunity, the title was finally secured on their third championship point when Harrison fired an ace down the middle.

The triumph adds another Grand Slam trophy to the Harrison family legacy. Christian’s elder brother, Ryan — now his coach — won the French Open doubles title in 2017.

“My parents are back home, and I remember watching my brother win the French Open with them,” Harrison said. “They were emotional wrecks then, and I know they’re probably the same right now.

“Thanks to my partner — without you this isn’t possible. In tight moments, I knew your experience would make the difference, and it did. It was fun battling together.”