Ram/Salisbury Lift Vienna Title, Boost London Chances

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury increased their chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals on Sunday, defeating Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-5 to lift the Erste Bank Open trophy.

The American-British pairing claimed its second ATP Tour title after one hour and 47 minutes, saving both break points they faced against the top seeds. Ram and Salisbury captured their maiden team trophy at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in March.

The fourth seeds add to their ATP Doubles Race To London total after recording their 36th tour-level victory as a team this season. Ram and Salisbury currently occupy the final qualification position in the Race with 3,490 points, with nearest rivals Henri Kontinen and John Peers holding 3,000 points ahead of the Rolex Paris Masters.

This is the second straight year that Salisbury has captured the Vienna crown. The 27-year-old won last year’s tournament alongside countryman Neal Skupski. Salisbury improves to 4-3 in ATP Tour finals. Ram adds a 19th trophy to his collection after his 34th tour-level championship match.

Kubot and Melo were attempting to collect the Vienna trophy for the third time as a team. The 2015 and 2016 champions, who have already qualified for The O2, own a 13-10 team record in tour-level finals.

Ram and Salisbury receive 500 ATP Doubles Ranking points and split €149,010 in prize money. Kubot and Melo gain 300 points and share €72,950.