After collecting seven team titles in 2022, Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski will compete for their first crown this season in BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
On Friday, the Dutch-British duo won 22 out of 31 points from their first delivery to survive Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 4-6, 10-5 in the semi-finals at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Top seeds Koolhof and Skupski will compete in their first final of 2023 after winning three Masters 1000 titles last season: Madrid, Montreal, and Paris.
Koolhof and Skupski meet next Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebdenwho saved all nine break points faced by the eventual defending champions John Isner and Jack Sock 7-6(6), 7-6(2).
The Indian-Australian duo took Friday’s semi-final without finding a break point of their own and maintained a high level to win two tie-breaks. Bopanna and Ebden have enjoyed a strong start to the year, including winning the ATP 500 event in Dubai and a runner-up finish in Rotterdam.
The BNP Paribas Open The men’s doubles finals will be held on Saturday before 5pm local time.