Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury clinched their third tour-level title of the season on Sunday at the Erste Bank Open, where they clawed past Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 6-4, 5-7, 12-10 at the ATP 500 event.
The American-British team won 82 per cent (37/45) of first-serve points and came through a tight Match Tie-break. They converted on their fourth match point to triumph after one hour and 33 minutes.
They have now clinched 12 tour-level trophies as a team, having also won titles in Lyon and at the US Open this year.
"We felt like we were doing all the right things and had to keep going," Ram said. "If they beat us when we were feeling like that then it would have been too good. They are a really tough team, serve so well. We had to have the confidence we would at least give ourselves a chance and we did."
🥂😁🥂😁
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 29, 2023
A third title for @joesalisbury92/@RajeevRam in 2023@ErsteBankOpen | #erstebankopen pic.twitter.com/NaLdo97eR5
Ram and Salisbury have also qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals. They will make their fifth appearance together at the prestigious year-end event in November, having won the trophy in Turin in 2022.
"It is amazing," Salisbury said on the win. "Titles don't come around too often. This is a pretty big one and amazing to come back. We won here five years ago so to come back and win is big."
Lammons and Withrow are currently eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. The Americans, who have won four trophies together in 2023, are aiming to make their debuts at the Nitto ATP Finals but due to the Grand Slam champion's rule, to make it to Turin, Lammons and Withrow will need to finish seventh in the Race.
