British doubles sensation Joe Salisbury has celebrated being named doubles world number-one with his American partner Rajeev Ram by bagging the Monte Carlo Masters.
The top seeds breezed into the final and came up against Colombian sixth seeds Robert Farah and Juan-Sebastian Cabal. After sharing a set apiece, Salisbury and Ram landed the deciding tie-break 10-7. It is their first ATP Tour title on clay – and what a venue in which to do so.
The Monte Carlo Masters is one of the most prestigious clay court events on the tennis tour. Staged at the Monte-Carlo Country Club, the home of the Monte Carlo Tennis Academy, this tournament carries a prize purse worth almost €6m.
Dating back to 1897, it has become part of the popular culture in the principality, alongside its iconic Formula 1 race and the Monte Carlo Casino that’s spawned a host of mainstream table games like European Roulette and Ultimate Texas Hold’em.
The latter of which is a dealer-focused spin-off of the traditional Texas Hold’em game that still inspires multiple mobile poker apps on iOS and Android.
It looked like being plain sailing for Salisbury and Ram in the first set of the final. They were in confident and dominant mood, winning 6-4 due largely to Salisbury’s crisp net play and Ram’s stylish serve and volley style.
However, the duo were guilty of taking their feet off the gas in the second set as their Colombian counterparts rallied to break serve following a fortuitous net cord and close it out 6-3 and take the final to a deciding championship tie-break.
The tie-break saw Salisbury and Ram twice break the Colombians’ serve but then squandered two of their three match points to heighten the tension. Ram eventually closed it out to the duo’s delight. In the post-match interview, Salisbury admitted the pair believed the clay surface to be “a weaker one” for them than hard and indoor courts where they’ve thrived in the past.
Salisbury’s Rise to the Top
29-year-old Londoner Joe Salisbury has been plying his doubles trade on the ATP scene since 2014, when he debuted with David O’Hare at the US National Indoor Championships. Four years later, Salisbury landed his first ATP Tour doubles title with Ben McLachlan, bagging the trophy at the Shenzhen Open in China.
In 2019, Salisbury paired up with Rajeev Ram for the first time and immediately hit it off, reaching the last 16 of the Wimbledon men’s doubles and winning the 2020 Australian Open. Salisbury’s form saw him move into world number three in the doubles rankings as of February 2020.
At the 2021 US Open, Salisbury and Ram landed their second Grand Slam title with a gruelling run at Flushing Meadows. They overcame a three-hour quarter-final with Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden and a semi with Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey to face-off against fellow Brit Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares in the final.
Salisbury and Ram prevailed in a deciding set to create yet more history. At the same tournament, Salisbury also landed the mixed doubles title with partner Desirae Krawczyk – the first time a man has won both doubles titles since the legendary Bob Bryan in 2010.
This year has been less fruitful prior to the Monte Carlo Masters. However, Salisbury and Ram’s quarter-final finish at the 2022 Miami Open was enough to nudge Salisbury into the world number-one position in the doubles rankings.