Ram/Salisbury Save 4 MPs, Reach US Open SFs
Fourth seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury survived a major scare Tuesday at the US Open as they saved four match points before edging past Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell 7-6(7), 6-7(6), 7-6(10) to reach the semi-finals in New York for the second time.
The American-British team squandered a match point at 6/5 in the second-set tie-break, before saving four match points themselves at 4/6, 5/6, 7/8 and 9/10 in the final-set tie-break to advance after two hours and 58 minutes.
They will next play Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey after the Americans moved past sixth seeds Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau 6-2, 7-6(5) to reach their second semi-final as a team at Flushing Meadows, after enjoying a run to the last four in 2015.
Eighth seeds John Peers and Filip Polasek also advanced, upsetting 2015 champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 6-2, 6-3.
The Australian-Slovakian tandem are competing together for the fourth time, after first teaming in Washington at the start of the North American hard-court swing. Peers and Polasek did not face a break point against the third seeds, hitting 10 aces to advance.
They will meet seventh seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, upset second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4.