Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury advanced to the semifinals of the doubles tournament at the Nitto ATP Finals for the second consecutive year.
Ram and Salisbury edged Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 7-5 2-6 11-9 in 1 hour and 36 minutes to win the Red Group with a 3-0 record ahead of 2019 ATP Finals champions Nicolas Mahut and Pierre Hugues Herbert, who will face Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the semifinal.
Ram and Salisbury set up a semifinal clash against Nikolas Mektic and Mate Pavic, who won nine titles (including Wimbledon, the Olympic Games in Tokyo and three Masters 1000 titles in Miami, Monte-Carlo and Rome) and finished at the top of the ATP Doubles Team Ranking.
Ram hit a forehand winner down the middle at 6-5. Salisbury hit a high smash at 6-5 and closed out the first set with a break two points later with a backhand winner down the line on Cabal’s serve after 42 minutes. Ram and Salisbury secured their spot in the semifinal by winning the first set.
Cabal and Farah broke serve in the third game to give the Colombian team a 3-2 lead. Farah hit a crosscourt backhand to break serve for 5-2.
Ram and Salisbury were not able to convert two match points at 9-7, but they sealed their third opportunity to close out the Match tie-break 11-9. Cabal and Farah were aiming to reach the Nitto ATP Finals for the third time in his career. They ended the ATP Tour season with a 37-20 match record after winning three titles in Dubai, Barcelona and Vienna.
