Turin (Italy), Nov 21 (IANS): Second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury produced an impressive performance to defeat Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic and clinch the men's double title at the ATP Finals, here on Sunday.
In a high-quality final, the American-British tandem was sharp from the first to the last point, overcoming the Croatians 7-6(4), 6-4 to end their season in style in northern Italy.
Salisbury is the first Briton to win the ATP Finals doubles title, while Ram is the 18th American to clinch the crown. The pair has earned 1,500 ATP Doubles Rankings points and 930,300 dollars as undefeated champions, the biggest doubles payday in history.
"That's probably up there with one of our best matches, one of our best matches as a team. I think we're so proud of everything we've done this week. We've come through some tough situations, but we've stuck together the whole way. (I'm) so happy, I can't believe we've achieved this," Salisbury said.
"I don't know what to say. My partner played out of this world today, but I guess that's what you've got to do and that's why he's one of the best around. He saves his best for the biggest moments. I'm so proud of us as a team for sure," Ram said.
Ram and Salisbury, who lost against Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in last year's final, have now captured nine tour-level titles as a team.
In a standout season, the pair lifted ATP Masters 1000 crowns in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati, while they lifted their third Grand Slam trophy at the US Open, holding a 37-14 record on the year.
With their 85-minute victory, Ram and Salisbury have improved to 3-4 in their ATP Head to Head series against Mektic and Pavic, having also defeated the fourth seeds in the semi-finals in Turin last year.
Both teams were strong on serve in the first set, with limited opportunities offered up on return as the opener moved to a tie-break. Ram and Salisbury, who saved the only break point of the set at 1-1, increased their depth on return in the tie-break and remained solid overhead, dispatching volleys and smashes to move ahead.
The second seeds then struck immediately at the start of the second set to gain further control, profiting from two double faults from Pavic to break. From there, Ram and Salisbury raced through their service games, winning 84 per cent (16/19) of points behind their first delivery to seal an emotional victory.
"I didn't think about that too much," Salisbury said on becoming the first British champion at the season finale.
"Obviously, that's a nice thing to achieve, but it was mainly about us as a team, the pair of us and everyone that supports us. We've got so many people behind us. It's just a massive team effort and we are just so happy with everything we've done this week," he added.
Ram is the 18th American to win the doubles title at the year-end event, joining Stan Smith, Arthur Ashe, John McEnroe, Peter Fleming, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.
"It's certainly pretty cool.There's been so many great American doubles players and so many great players that have won this. It's an honour to be on that trophy with them for sure," Ram said when asked about joining the list of American champions.
Meanwhile, Mektic and Pavic were seeking their sixth tour-level title of the year this week in Turin. They triumphed together at an ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome, while they also lifted trophies in Geneva, at The Queen's Club in London, in Eastbourne and Astana.
Mektic was aiming to win his second ATP Finals crown, having triumphed with Wesley Koolhof in 2020.
"Congratulations to Rajeev and Joe. You were really good today. Congratulations and enjoy your moment. I want to also thank Mate and our whole box, we had a great week," Mektic said during the trophy ceremony.