Brit Joe Salisbury wins men’s doubles title at the Australian Open after convincing final victory alongside partner Rajeev Ram
- British doubles specialist Joe Salisbury won the men’s doubles on Sunday
- Alongside Rajeev Ram, they beat Luke Saville and Max Purcell in straight sets
- Sailsbury is the fourth British male since 1968 to win a men’s doubles Slam
Joe Salisbury’s meteoric rise continued this morning when he and American partner Rajeev Ram convincingly won the Australian Open doubles title.
The 27 year-old from Putney will now rise to a world ranking of number four after they comfortably dismissed unseeded Australians Luke Saville and Max Purcell 6-4 6-2 in just 70 minutes to win the final.
Rarely can the Anglo-American pair have played better together, and they were superior in every department playing on Rod Laver Arena as the undercard to the men’s singles final.
Joe Salisbury holds the men’s doubles trophy aloft with partner Rajeev Ram of USA
The Anglo-American duo were too strong for Australians Luke Saville and Max Purcell
If anything the scoreline could have been more convincing as they created twelve break points. They took only three of them, but that was ample as they handled the occasion much better.
Salisbury and Ram will share £410,000 for winning the title, barely eighteen months after the former emerged from obscurity to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. If this form continues it is conceivable that he might soon be challenging for the world number one spot in doubles.
‘We came together as a team a year ago and didn’t expect to be here now,’ said Salisbury after being presented with the trophy Australian legend Tony Roche.
He becomes only the fourth British male in the post 1968 Open era to win a Grand Slam men’s doubles title, the others being Roger Taylor, Jamie Murray and Jonny Marray.