WIMBLEDON, England — Former LSU tennis player Ken Skupski will compete in the gentlemen’s doubles main draw of the Wimbledon Championships which begins Monday at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Skupski will team up with Richard Bloomfield as a wild card entry. The United Kingdom duo will square off against Frantisek Cermak of the Czech Republic and Jordan Kerr of Australia. Their match time as yet to be scheduled.
The grass courts tournament, which is the third Grand Slam event of the year, runs from June 23 through July 6, 2008. Play is scheduled to start on Centre and No. 1 Courts at 1 p.m. for the first eleven days of play and at 2 p.m. on finals days.
“Playing in the main draw of Wimbledon is a dream come true and I intend to make the most of the experience,” Skupski said. “All the hard work I put in at LSU and in the past 12 months has finally paid off and I can enjoy the next two weeks.
“Richard and I have been close friends since we met as national standard juniors at the age of 10. We planned to play together professionally for a couple of years prior to me leaving LSU. We are both coached by Pete Russell and it makes life on tour a lot more fun travelling in a small group rather than alone.”
Skupski also reached the Wimbledon qualifying singles first round but fell to Noam Okun of Israel, 6-4, 6-2.
Skupski ended his career as a Tiger as one of the most decorated tennis players in LSU history. The four-year letterman played at the one spot in singles for his entire career. He received ITA All-American singles honors two times (2006, 2007), and doubles All-American honors in 2005. Skupski was named first-team All SEC all four years he was a Tiger. He was named co-captain during his junior and senior season. The Liverpool, England native sits fourth on the LSU career wins list with 104. In his sophomore year, he and partner Mark Growcott advanced to the finals of the NCAA doubles championships. That same season, Skupski and Growcott compiled the most doubles wins in a season at LSU with 34.
2008 Wimbledon Championships
June 23 – July 6
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Gentlemen’s Doubles
First Round
Richard Bloomfield (GBR)/Ken Skupski (GBR) vs. Frantisek Cermak (CZE)/Jordan Kerr (AUS), TBD