NEW YORK: Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury successfully defended their men's doubles US Open crown on Friday, defeating second seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski to win their third Grand Slam title as a team.
The duo of Ram and Salisbury defeated Koolhof and Skupski 7-6(4), 7-5 to clinch the US Open crown.
Ram and Salisbury closed the net effectively, attacked second serves and rallied from 1/4 in the first-set tie-break to finally triumph after one hour and 57 minutes.
In a tight first set, break point opportunities were limited as both teams performed strongly on serve.
At the beginning of the second set, Skupski fired a return winner to give the second seeds an early break, but the top seeds soon retaliated to even the match at 2-2. Ram and Salisbury stayed focused on their attacking strategy, breaking once more in the 12th game to secure their victory.
With this stunning victory, the American-British duo has become the second team, after Koolhof and Skupski, to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in November.
"I really don't have any words," Ram said during the trophy ceremony.
"I got to come here the first year this stadium opened and play Arthur Ashe Kids' Day when I was 14 and I watched Sampras win this tournament. I watched James [Blake] play an amazing match against Andre Agassi in 2005. I watched Andy Roddick win this tournament and Venus and Serena. To be a small part of that as an American, I don't even know what to say. Thank you guys so much for coming out," he added.
"It is pretty crazy. I can't quite believe it that we are standing here again," Salisbury said.
"It is so, so special to be playing in this incredible stadium in front of all of you. To have that piece of history, winning this twice in a row is amazing," he added.