Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool capped off an incredible grass season by becoming the first all-British duo to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles title in almost nine decades. The No.5 seeds defeated the unseeded pairing of Rinky Hijikata and David Pel 6-2 7-6(3) to win a maiden Grand Slam title and make Wimbledon history.
This is the first time in the Open Era, and the first since Pat Hughes and Raymond Tuckey did it in 1936, that two British men have lifted the doubles trophy. Cash and Glasspool have lost just one match on grass this year, losing in the ‘s-Hertogenbosch final before sweeping titles at Queen’s, Eastbourne, and now Wimbledon.
Neither Cash nor Glasspool had ever reached a Grand Slam final before, while Hijikata had plenty of experience after winning men’s doubles at the 2023 Australian Open with Jason Kubler.
But the fifth seeds started strong and broke the Pel serve to love, storming through the opening set in just 27 minutes and dropping only three points on their serves.
Dutch star Pel survived a tough service game to start the second set, as Hijikata sealed it with a volley at the net. Cash saved a break point to level at 2-2, then the Brits broke to move ahead.
But 28-year-old Cash had more trouble on his serve, and the Aussie/Dutch pair broke for 4-4. It turned into a battle, and Pel narrowly avoided hitting a ballkid while sending a ball back to the other side of the net when Cash sent it wide at 6-5.
The second set went to a tiebreak. There was a flurry of mini-breaks early on but the Brits pulled ahead to lead 5-3, and then had three championship points when Pel sent the ball long.
Glasspool got it done with a smash winner at the net, and the Brits embraced each other after ending the 89-year wait for a home men’s doubles title win.
After lifting the trophy, a delighted Cash told the packed Centre Court crowd: “We’ve played a crazy amount of tennis on the grass, every match we possibly could.
“A lot of people were talking coming into this event, there was a lot of pressure on our shoulders and the fact we’ve been able to do what everyone was talking about is surreal. Thanks all of you for coming out. It was unbelievable out here today.”
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