Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury extended their Nitto ATP Finals winning streak to seven matches on Wednesday in Turin. In doing so, they sealed a semi-final spot at the prestigious season finale for the fourth consecutive year.
The defending champions Ram and Salisbury held firm for a 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 win against Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski inside the Pala Alpitour. Now 2-0 in Red Group, they are already assured a place in the last four regardless of what happens in their third match against Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler.
Ram and Salisbury have struggled for their usual consistency this year but became ATP Tour champions in Lyon in May and Vienna in October, either side of defending their title at the US Open. They are now 34-18 for the season after holding firm in a tense Match Tie-break to wrap an 83-minute triumph against Koolhof and Skupski.
[SWEEPSTAKES]
A single break decided each of the first two sets in an absorbing encounter, the first between the two teams since Ram and Salisbury prevailed in the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals semi-finals. The American-British pair notched the first break of the match in the sixth game en route to winning an opening set in which they saved five break points, but Koolhof and Skupski broke to love in the eighth game of the second to draw level.
After edging their second-seeded rivals in a tight Match Tie-break by winning seven of nine points from 3/5 , Ram and Salisbury are now 14-5 across five appearances at the Nitto ATP Finals. They also reached the championship match in Turin in 2021, before their title run last year.
With a 1-1 record for the week, Koolhof and Skupski next face a straight shootout to become the second team to advance from Red Group against Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/CJX2AeW
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