Joe Salisbury (right) and doubles partner Rajeev Ram are back in action on the ATP tour after a five-month break in play after winning their first Grand Slam title in February.
MEMPHIS – Former University of Memphis men's tennis player Joe Salisbury has reunited with doubles teammate Rajeev Ram in preparation for the US Open and is in action this weekend beginning with the Western & Southern Open. Doubles play in the US Open is expected to begin September 2.
After ending 2019 with an appearance in the Nitto ATP Finals, the tandem started 2020 by winning the Australian Open doubles title in February, Salisbury's first career Grand Slam title and the first for a former UofM player.
After a quarterfinal appearance in Dubai later than month, Salisbury and Ram were prepping for a pair of stateside tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami when CoVID put the brakes on the ATP calendar.
Salisbury enters the Western & Southern Open as the world's seventh-ranked doubles player. Ram is No. 9.
The ATP Tour initially suspended its tour for six weeks, beginning March 12. The tour was further suspended on April 1, which also forced Salisbury's hometown tournament, Wimbledon, an event where he was a 2018 doubles semifinalist, off the calendar. A third suspension of play was announced through the end of July May 15.
While ATP play was on hold, Salisbury returned home to England and entered quarantine and at-home workouts with the rest of professional tennis. The 2014 Memphis graduate did get some on-the-court competition though with the creation of the Battle of the Brits exhibition event.
Played at the end of July, the event featured 60 total matches, 40 in singles and 20 in doubles. Two teams consisting of 13 players each competed for team points, not a format unfamiliar to Salisbury after a four-year collegiate career for the Tigers. Salisbury played for the British Bulldogs, seeing another former Tiger, 2018 graduate Ryan Peniston, across the court on the Union Jacks' roster.
On Super Sunday of the event, it came down to Salisbury's mixed doubles match to decide the team title. Salisbury and partner Harriet Dart clinched the last five points available for the team score with a 6-4, 6-2 victory, securing the Bulldogs' 63-56 win.
Now Salisbury is back stateside, and had expected to be in Cincinnati playing in the Western & Southern Open. But that event was moved to Flushing Meadows, site of the upcoming US Open, to help players quarantine in preparation for the US Open.
The 16-team doubles draw for the Western & Southern Open began Saturday for Salisbury and Ram, the three seeds in the event, with a 6-3, 6-7, 10-6 first round win. It was their first competition together since February as the duo begins prep for a run at a second Grand Slam title in the unprecedented 2020 calendar.
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Former Tiger Joe Salisbury in US Open field - Memphis Official Athletic Site
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