US Open 2023 results: Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram win to secure third successive title
- Published
Salisbury and Ram have won four Grand Slams together, three US Open titles and one Australian Open
US Open 2023 |
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Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 August-10 September |
Coverage: Daily live text and radio commentaries across the BBC Sport website, app, BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra |
Briton Joe Salisbury and American partner Rajeev Ram came from behind to secure a historic third US Open men's doubles title in a row.
Salisbury and Ram trailed by a set but eventually triumphed 2-6 6-3 6-4 over India's Rohan Bopanna and Australian Matthew Ebden.
The pair have won all three finals they have competed in at Flushing Meadows.
The feat has never been achieved in the Open Era with the last hat-trick of titles coming more than 100 years ago.
"This partnership is really special," said Salisbury on court after the win.
"We just know we're going to give it our all. We're going to fight hard, we're going to give it our best until the very end and that's what we did today.
"We didn't play our best in the first set but we knew we were going to keep going and that's what happened. I'm just really proud of the effort that we put in today," he added.
"We don't take it for granted, we savour every moment."
Heavily backed by a US crowd cheering on their home player Ram, the pair struggled in a disjointed opening set with Salisbury making three double faults and Ram dropping serve in the opening game.
But, after a time out early in the second set to close the roof because of the oppressive heat in New York, they secured a crucial break when Bopanna's forehand flashed just wide to level the match and force a decider.
Salisbury and Ram saved three break points in the third set before taking their opponents' serve in the fifth game as the duo finally found their rhythm.
In a sporting moment, Bopanna, a finalist in 2010, conceded a point when an Ebden forehand brushed his elbow, which the umpire had failed to spot.
Ram praised his good friend for his actions, saying he had "never seen something like that".
"That act of sportsmanship on the court - we've been playing for the better part of 20-25 years on tour together - we would have had no idea, so it just shows what kind of guy he is and how deserving he is at this point of his career to be playing for these titles," said Ram.
At 43 years old, Bopanna was the oldest man to compete in a Grand Slam men's doubles final.
The victory marks an 18th successive one in New York for Ram and Salisbury and the pair appeared emotional in their chairs after Ram served out the match.
The pair, who have had a disappointing 2023 season, were the first to reach three successive US Open men's doubles finals since Australia's Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde did so between 1994 and 1996.
But it is more than a century since a men's team have won three Slams on the spin at Flushing Meadows, with Maurice McLoughlin and Tom Bundy securing three consecutive wins between 1912-14.
The title is the fourth for the duo, who also won the Australian Open in 2020, and gives Salisbury a sixth Grand Slam title across the men's and mixed doubles, leaving him just one major title away from Jamie Murray's tally.