By Glenys Furness
- Joe Salisbury & Rajeev Ram claim end of season title
- First Brit to win the doubles at the event
- Brit / American didn’t lose a match
MILAN, ITALY – Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram were the second seeds at the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals. The Brit/American pairing claimed the title without losing a match. Salisbury became the first Brit to win the doubles.
Joe Salisbury & Rajeev Ram had qualified for the end-of-season Nitto ATP finals and were the second seeds. The Brit/American were drawn in the Red Group. Their first round robin match was against the seventh seeds Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos. Salisbury & Ram broke in the first set to take the lead. The second set was much closer, with Granollers & Zeballos staying with the Brit/American. The seventh seeds forced a tiebreak which they edged to level up the match. The ensuing match tiebreak saw the second seeds edged through to claim their first match win 6-3, 6-7(8), 10-8.
Their second round robin match was against sixth seeds Lloyd Glasspool & Harri Heliovaara. The Brit/Fin stayed close in the first set, before the second seeds managed to secure the break of serve right at the end of the first set. The second set started close, with Glasspool & Heliovaara holding to stay with the second seeds. However, just when needed Salisbury & Ram managed to get the needed break of serve and claimed their second group win 7-5, 6-4.
In the final round robin match, Salisbury & Ram were against third seeds Marcelo Arevalo-Gonzalez & Jean-Julien Roger. The Brit/American found themselves in a battle for the first set, which the third seeds claimed after breaking serve of Salisbury & Ram. The second set saw the Brit/American fight hard and forced a tiebreak, which they eased through and levelled up the match. The ensuing match tiebreak saw the second seeds break early and moved into the knock out stages with three wins from three 3-6, 7-6(4), 10-5.
The semi-final saw Salisbury & Ram against the top seeds Neal Skupski & Wesley Koolhof. The second seeds stayed with Skupski & Koolhof in the first set, forcing a tiebreak. The breaker was very close, as the Brit/Dutch pairing battled hard, but in the end it was the Brit/American that edged through to take the lead. The second set was a little easier for the second seeds as Salisbury & Ram broker serve to book their spot in the final 7-6(7), 6-4.
In the final Salisbury & Ram were against the fourth seeds Mate Pavic & Nikola Mektic. The second seeds were held in the first set, and the Croatians forced a tiebreak. However, the Brit/American stepped on the gas in the breaker and eased through. The second set saw Salisbury & Ram break at the start and they held onto that single break to claim the match, and the title 7-6(4), 6-4. Salisbury became the first Brit to win the doubles at the season ending ATP World Tour Finals.
Doubles Round Up
Lloyd Glasspool & Harri Heliovaara were defeated by Mate Pavic & Nikola Mektic in the semi-final in Milan6-4, 6-7(4), 10-6.
Jay Clarke & Joshua Paris were defeated by Pavel Kotov & Aibek Kachamazov in the first round in Helsinki 6-7, 6-3, 12-10.
Sarah Beth Grey with Mariam Bolkvadze were defeated by Anna Klasen & Eliessa Vanlangendonck in the semi-final in Helsinki 0-0 (RET).
Oliver Okonkwo with Mathis Debru were defeated by Treat Huey & Alex Lawson in the first round in Champaign 6-3, 6-4.
Luke Johnson with Theo Arribage were defeated by Ezekiel Clark & Alfredo Perez in the semi-final in Champaign 7-5, 3-6, 13-11.
Charles Broom with Constantin Frantzen were defeated by Julian Cash & Henry Patten in the semi-final in Drummondville 6-3, 6-3.
Arthur Fery & Giles Hussey were defeated by Julian Cash & Henry Patten in the final in Drummondville 6-3, 6-3.
Stefan Cooper with Yudai Umeoka were defeated by Akram El Sallaly & Amr Elsayed in the first round in Sharm-El-Sheikh 6-0, 6-2.
Billy Blaydes & Freddy Blaydes were defeated by Kris Van Wyck & Alexander Zgirovsky in the semi-final in Sharm-El-Sheikh 6-0, 6-2.
Scott Duncan & Marcus Willis were defeated by Adam Jones & Damian Rodriguez in the quarter-final in Heraklion 6-7(1), 7-6(7), 13-11.
Adam Jones & Damian Rodriguez were defeated by Alexander Donski & Tim Sandkaulen in the semi-final in Heraklion 7-6(10), 6-1.
Hamish Stewart with Stefan Menichella were defeated by Jakob Schnaitter & Mark Wallner in the first round in East Lansing 6-2, 6-4.
Ben Jones with Alex Knaff were defeated by Jakob Schnaitter & Mark Wallner in the quarter-final in East Lansing 2-6, 7-6(1), 10-6.
Joshua Goodger & Emile Hudd were defeated by Alex Michelsen & Learner Tien in the final in East Lansing 6-4, 6-3.
Destinee Martins with Ganna Poznikhirenko were defeated by Maya Joint & Lexington Reed in the quarter-final in Waco 5-7, 7-6(5), 10-8.
Blu Baker & Finn Murgett defeated Younes Lalami Laaroussi & Brandon Perez in the final in Boca Raton 3-6, 7-6(3), 10-8.
Mark Whitehouse with Adam Taylor were defeated by Jeremy Beale & James Frawley in the final in Traralgon 6-3, 6-4.
Naiktha Bains with Alana Parnaby defeated Haruna Arakawa & Natsuho Arakawa in the final in Traralgon 7-6(4), 6-2.
Aimee Broomfield & Lucy Dawson were defeated by Kamilla Bartone & Bojana Marinkovic in the first round in Monastir 6-1, 6-0.
Maia Lumsden with Katarina Stresnakova were defeated by Jesika Maleckova & Renata Voracova in the quarter-final in Bratislava 4-6, 7-6(3), 10-7.
Freya Christie & Ali Collins were defeated by Katarina Kuzmova & Viktoria Kuzmova in the semi-final in Bratislava 7-6(5), 1-6, 10-5.
Emily Webley-Smith with Veronika Erjavac were defeated by Irina Khromacheva & Iryna Shymanovich in the first round in Madrid 6-1, 6-2.
Emily Appleton with Weronika Falkowska were defeated by Anna Kubareva & Maria Timofeeva in the semi-final in Meitar 6-4, 7-6(8).
Eden Silva with Conny Perrin defeated Ekaterina Kazionova & Ekaterina Makarova in the final in Saint-Eitienne 6-4, 4-6, 10-6.
India Rojano with Iris Verwelj were defeated by Olga Helmi & Alice Robbe in the first round in Funchal 6-1, 6-1.
Emma Wilson with Valeria Koussenkova were defeated by Francisca Jorge & Matilde Jorge in the quarter-final in Funchal 6-2, 6-3.
Next Week Brits play in Nottingham, Andria, Yokkaichi, Tunisia, Greece, Brazil, Australia, Egypt, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg & Portugal.
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