Ram/Salisbury Begin US Open Campaign
Fourth seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury overcame Soonwoo Kwon and Divij Sharan 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the second round at the US Open.
The American-British pair enjoyed a run to the semi-finals in New York last year. They set the wheels in motion for another strong performance as they hit eight aces and won 89 per cent (32/36) of their first-serve points to advance in 72 minutes.
Ram and Salisbury arrived at Flushing Meadows in form, having downed Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in Toronto last month to capture their first ATP Masters 1000 title as a team. They are aiming to lift their second major trophy at the US Open, after clinching the Australian Open crown in 2020.
On a rain-disrupted day, Simone Bolelli and Maximo Gonzalez also managed to beat the weather as the 14th seeds moved past Cameron Norrie and Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(5), 6-3 in 84 minutes.
The Italian-Argentine team broke three times en route to victory, snapping a three-match losing streak. Bolelli and Gonzalez, who are making their second appearance as a team at Flushing Meadows, have won titles in Santiago, Parma and Mallorca this year.
All other doubles matches were suspended for the day due to rain, with 2019 US Open champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah among those in action.