Reigning champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury moved to within one win of retaining their US Open title Thursday, when they edged Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(6).
In a hard-fought semi-final clash, the top seeds won 79 per cent (54/68) of their first-serve points and showed their fighting spirit, rallying from a break down in the third set to eventually triumph after three hours and 14 minutes.
Ram and Salisbury now hold a 16-2 record at the hard-court Grand Slam as a team. They defeated Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares in the final last year to lift their second major trophy together.
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The American-British tandem will face second seeds Neal Skupski and Wesley Koolhof or third seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer in the championship match. Ram and Salisbury, who will qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals if they win the title, are aiming to become just the second team to defend their US Open crown. Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde captured the trophy in 1995 and 1996.
Ram and Salisbury arrived at Flushing Meadows off the back of a title run in Cincinnati, where they earned their second ATP Masters 1000 trophy. They are now 30-12 on the year.
