Joe Salisbury beats Jamie Murray in Brits battle to become US Open men’s doubles champion alongside partner Rajeev Ram – with Emma Raducanu hoping to follow in his footsteps
- Joe Salisbury beat fellow Brit Jamie Murray for the US Open men’s doubles title
- It was the first time two British men met in a doubles Grand Slam final in the Open era
- Salisbury and partner Rajeev Ram beat Murray and Bruno Soares 6-3 2-6 6-2
Joe Salisbury may have been operating deep in the slipstream of Emma Raducanu for two weeks but he became the first British champion at the US Open on Friday night.
The 29-year-old from Putney took the bragging rights from Jamie Murray as they faced off in the men’s doubles final, Salisbury claiming his second Grand Slam title alongside American partner Rajeev Ram.
Together they completed an emphatic comeback by defeating Murray and Bruno Soares 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to add to their Australian Open win of 2020.
Joe Salisbury (left) and Rajeev Ram (right) won the US Open men’s doubles final on Friday
Jamie Murray (left) and partner Bruno Soares (right) couldn’t find a way past Salisbury and Ram
It places Salisbury as the fourth-ranked doubles player in the world, as well as giving him a bumper payday of £238,000 in prize money.
‘This is the first time I’ve played on Arthur Ashe Stadium and it’s a dream come true,’ he said, playing 12 hours after Raducanu had vacated it after making the women’s final.
Although a late developer, he has now established himself as GB’s top doubles practitioner and he was especially sharp with his returns and around the net during a deciding set when they sprinted away in the match.
Salisbury and Ram were sluggish in the opening set but fought back hard to clinch the title
That denied Murray the chance of becoming Britain’s first player in the modern era to win eight Grand Slam titles.
He and Soares could console themselves with the thought that their progress had come despite very little preparation for this event after the Brazilian needed his appendix removing in late July.
Salisbury and Ram were both broken from 3-3 in the first set to fall behind but immediately responded by winning the next four games. The decisive blow was landed when Murray was broken at the start of the decider.
Salisbury said the win was a ‘dream come true’ while Murray was ‘proud’ of his performance
Getting used to being on the vast arena, which gradually filled up following the noon start, had been a factor in the slow beginning. ‘We didn’t play great in the first set,’ said Salisbury. ‘It was really tough with the sun and shade and we were struggling to see the ball but we didn’t panic and it became a lot easier after that.’
Salisbury’s day only got better when he and partner Desirae Krawczyk later made it into the final of the mixed doubles. They beat USA’s Jessica Pegula and Austin Krajicek 7-6 6-4 and now face the Central American duo of Giuliana Olmos and Marcelo Arvelo.
A disappointing first men’s semi-final on Friday night saw Daniil Medvedev outclass Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 7-5 6-2. The rangy Russian was in command throughout and is into his third Grand Slam final. He was left awaiting the winner between Novak Djokovic and Alex Zverev.