Ram/Salisbury Claim First Title Of 2023 In Lyon

Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury delivered a dominant championship-match performance Saturday at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon, where the American-British pairing downed Nicolas Mahut and Matwe Middelkoop 6-0, 6-3 at the clay-court ATP 250.

The top seeds converted four of five break points they earned to ease to a 60-minute triumph and lift the trophy on event debut in France. After racing through the first set, Ram and Salisbury held their nerve to clinch victory on a deciding deuce point at 5-3, 40/40 after Mahut and Middelkoop threatened a second-set comeback.

“I think we got better and better with each match this week, and this was definitely the best match we played against quality opponents, obviously," said Ram. "We played a great two sets of tennis, I thought it was awesome.”

Ram and Salisbury lifted four tour-level titles together in 2022, including the Nitto ATP Finals crown in Turin, but had reached only one semi-final on Tour this year prior to Lyon. They now own 10 tour-level trophies as a team, with their Lyon victory providing a big confidence boost before they head to Paris to compete as the second seeds at Roland Garros.

“It feels great. It’s always nice to win a tournament," said Salisbury. "It’s been a while for us. That was our first final of the year and our first [title] of the year, so it’s great to get this title. Especially against such a great team and playing so well. It was a very convincing win and we played great, so that’s also a really good feeling going into Roland Garros next week.”

“We haven’t had the best of seasons so far," added Ram. "So obviously to win four matches in a row, right before a big tournament in Paris and in a beautiful place like Lyon, we couldn’t be happier.”