Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury won the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals doubles championships match in Turin against Olympic champions Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic last weekend adding another trophy to their collection that includes nine tour-level titles as a team.
Salisbury has become the first British player in history to win the Nitto ATP Finals doubles title.
“That’s probably up there one of our best matches as a team. I think we are so proud of everything we have done this week. We have come through some tough situation, but we have stuck together the whole way. I am so happy, I can’t believe we have achieved this. It’s just special for us after coming so close in a couple of years, the get over the line this time feels amazing. This is one of the biggest titles we have won. It’s the biggest on the ATP Tour. This would be right up there at the top of our list of ones we wanted to win. It’s one we have not won before. Of the few things we still wanted to achieve, this was definitely one of them. I am really happy about the way we have gone about it and everything we have dealt with this week.”, said Salisbury.
Ram is the 18th US player to win this tournament. They finished the tournament undefeated in their five matches last week.
“I don’t know what to say. My partner played out this world today, but I guess that’s what you have got to do and that’s why he is one of the best players around. He saves his best for the biggest moments. His best quality is his sense of playing well in the biggest moments is incredible. Like today, I thought he played one of the best matches of the season for sure and maybe since we have played together. I thought he was incredible. It’s a big reason why I think when we get to the ends of these tournaments, we tend to play pretty well. I am so proud of us as a team for sure. We are going to enjoy this as long as we can because it’s just such a special tournament to play in and to obviously win”, said Ram.
The US and British team have won the US Open and two Masters titles in Monte-Carlo and Cincinnati during a very successful 2022 season.
“I don’t think there is any secret apart from the fact that we get on well. We work hard. We have a great team. We have great coaches and a wide support network that are all trying to get the best out of us. We work hard and we try to get better every time we step on the court. I think we have done that over the last few years. We help each other out on the court. We get the best out of each other on the court. I think we keep getting better”, said Salisbury.
Ram and Salisbury avenged their defeat in last year’s championships match of the ATP Finals against the French team formed by Nicholas Mahut and Pierre Hugues Herbert.
Ram and Salisbury have improved to 3-4 in their seven head-to-head matches against Mektic and Pavic.
Ram was left of the US team, who will play at the upcoming Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. He expressed his disappointment during the post-match press conference.
“I put in a lot of hard work this year to help the team get there. I felt like I had earned the spot. I was quite surprised when I was not picked, and even more surprised to be honest that they only went with four players instead of five. That was the choice. I was hoping to be on the team”, said Ram.
