Britain’s Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski have won their first title as a pair just hours after being beaten to the last spot at the ATP Finals.
Murray and Skupski reached the Sofia Open final, but missed out on the ATP finals after Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin won their semi-final.
The two rival pairs were set to play in Saturday’s final in Bulgaria.
But as the ATP Finals start in London on Sunday, Melzer and Roger-Vasselin conceded the Sofia Open title.
Melzer and Roger-Vasselin secured their place at the season-ending event at the O2 Arena by beating Marin Cilic and Tomislav Brkic 7-5 6-4 on Friday.
If Melzer and Roger-Vasselin had lost, Murray, 34, and 30-year-old Skupski would have had to beat Cilic and Brkic to secure their spot at the O2 – for the first time as a pair.
Doubles player Joe Salisbury is the only Briton to have qualified for the ATP Finals, which is being held in London for the final time before it moves to Turin in Italy from 2021.
However, Murray and Skupski could yet join him there as alternates if any of the eight pairings withdraw.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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