LIVERPOOL, England — LSU men’s tennis alumnus Ken Skupski moved into the No. 1 doubles position with partner Colin Fleming for Great Britain’s Davis Cup matchup against Lithuania slated for this weekend.
Singles begin on Friday with Skupski and Fleming competing in doubles on Saturday.
Fleming and Skupski have had a banner year. The duo claimed their first two ATP titles at the Open de Moselle and St. Petersburg Open and peaked at No. 41 in the world.
Great Britain has yet to win a Davis Cup match against Lithuania since Andy Murray took a hiatus following Great Britain’s relegation, but according to 1987 Wimbledon Champion Pat Cash, a solid doubles lineup will give Britain’s Davis Cup team the push it needs.
“If you can build that solid doubles team, then you have a great platform to build your tie on,” Cash said in a Liverpool Echo article. “The singles matches are often very close, and it is very common for them to be level so the doubles is often the tiebreaker.”
In the same article, Cash sites that the future of the Davis Cup rests in the success of Skupski and Fleming.
The pressure of the No. 1 spot is not new for Skupski.
While at LSU, the Liverpool, England, native played at the top spot in singles for the Tigers all four years of his career.
Skupski did more than stand out in singles. At LSU, the world got its first glimpse of a powerful force in doubles as he and partner Mark Growcott notched the most doubles wins in a season (34) and advanced to the finals of the NCAA doubles championships.
Skupski left as one of the most decorated players in the history of the program in 2007 after the four-year letterman picked up three All-America honors (2 singles, 1 doubles), four First-Team All-SEC honors, and four First-Team All-Louisiana Honors.