19 February 2021

Joe Salisbury reaches Australian Open doubles final at Jamie Murray’s expense

19 February 2021

Britain’s Joe Salisbury celebrated a victory over countryman Jamie Murray in advancing to the men’s doubles final at the Australian Open.

Salisbury and his American partner Rajeev Ram defeated Murray and Brazil’s Bruno Soares 6-4 7-6 (2) at Rod Laver Arena.

The fifth-seeded Salisbury and Ram will play ninth-seeds Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Filip Polasek of Slovakia in Sunday’s final, after that pair beat Croatian second seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic 4-6 6-4 6-3.

Salisbury and Ram needed an hour and 45 minutes to overcome sixth seeds Murray and Soares.

The trans-Atlantic pairing dominated on their first serve, winning 81% of first serve points compared to just 64% for Murray and Soares, and converted two of three break points whereas their opponents broke only once from two opportunities.

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