ATP Tour

Mektic/Ram clinch first Masters 1000 trophy in Cincinnati

Nikola Mektic and Rajeev Ram completed a dream run at the Cincinnati Open on Sunday when they held their nerve to defeat Lorenzo Musetti and Lorenzo Sonego in the doubles final to secure their maiden Masters 1000 title as a pair.

Playing their first tour-level final together in just their third event of the year, Mektic and Ram staged a comeback to edge the all-Italian pair 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 in a 90-minute clash to win their first trophy as a team. With the win, they are up 196 spots to No. 25 in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

"Tennis, right? Crazy stories. This is our third tournament together, even though we know each other for three decades, probably. Thank you so much, I can't thank you enough, and it was a pleasure playing this week," Mektic said to Ram during the trophy presentation ceremony.

The Croatian-American duo won 87 per cent (34/39) of their first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to claim their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Musetti and Sonego. En route to the title match, they defeated Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool in the semi-finals and snapped the pair’s 22-match winning streak.

By reaching the final, Mektic joined Rohan Bopanna and Mate Pavic as the only active doubles players to reach finals of all nine ATP Masters 1000 events. With the win, he earned his 11th Masters 1000 crown, the most among active players. At 41 years and 4 months, Ram became the second-oldest men’s doubles champion in Cincinnati in the Open Era, after 42-year-old Daniel Nestor, who triumphed in 2015 with Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

"We have known each other a really long time...We've played some great matches against each other. It is so nice to have him [Mektic] on my side of the net," Ram said.

Musetti and Sonego were aiming to become the first all-Italian pair to win a Masters 1000 title since the series began in 1990. Musetti was also aiming to become the youngest ATP Masters 1000 doubles champion since a 20-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime triumphed at the 2020 Rolex Paris Masters with Hubert Hurkacz.