Ram/Salisbury Survive Late Scare To Reach Monte Carlo QFs

Top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury did not face a break point in their Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters opener until the last two points of the match.

Facing Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar Friday on Court Des Princes, the American-British duo saved them both to close out a 6-2, 6-3 victory. The second break chance came in a deciding point that doubled as match point, and the top seeds took the opportunity to slam the door shut on any last-ditch comeback attempt.

Ram and Salisbury are through to their third straight ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final, with last-four runs at the Australian Open and Indian Wells the best results of the 2022 season for the pair.

The last ATP Masters 1000 event in which they failed to register a win was in Paris last November, when they fell to Michael Venus and Tim Puetz. The Australian-German pairing awaits in Friday’s quarter-finals after it notched 4-6, 6-6, 10-4 win over Aslan Karatsev and John Peers on Wednesday.

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In the only other completed doubles match on Thursday, Rohan Bopanna and Jamie Murray edged Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda, 6-4, 6-7(9), 10-7. Fritz had previously beaten his American teammate in the Monte Carlo singles draw to open the day’s play.

Third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos also advanced to the quarter-finals, courtesy of a walkover against Daniel Evans and Diego Schwartzman, with the Argentine withdrawing due to fatigue following a three-set singles win over Lorenzo Musetti.