Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury were proclaimed champions of the US Open doubles tournament this Friday, beating in three sets (3-6, 6-2 and 6-2 in 1:45) in the final another Briton, Jamie Murray, and the Brazilian Bruno Soares. The American and the British thus achieved their second Grand Slam title as a couple, after the one they lifted last year at the Australian Open, where they were also finalists last February.
Ram, 37, and Salisbury, 29, fourth favorites, rallied after losing in the first to Murray (35) and Soares (39), seventh, who had been far superior until then and who were champions of the New York major in 2016. It is the 20th title for Rajeev and the 7th for Joe, fourth as a team. Until the final they had only lost their serve once and against Murray and Soares they gave it up twice.
Last month, the US Open champions won the 1,000 Canadian Masters, held in Toronto, and this triumph places them as fourth in the ranking of doubles tied on points (9,290). Soares is now 9th and Murray is 20th.