Metkic and Pavic, lost in the final before Davis’ Spain-Croatia

The American built couple Rajeev Ram and English Joe Salisbury was crowned this Sunday as the doubles champion of the ATP Finals to be held in Turin, after defeating the Croats Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of 7-6 (4) and 6-4.

The number two couple in the rankings added a new title to put the finishing touch on a near-perfect season. The new masters are this year’s champions of the United States Open and the Masters 1,000 in Cincinnati and Monte Carlo, a tour that allowed them to become the second seeds of the tournament that brings together the sixteen best doubles player of the season.

They imposed themselves firmly on another duo who argued against lifting the title, but could not finish the tournament with the best taste in their mouths, as they managed to take the lead in the first set but missed a breaking ball in the third game of the feast

Metkic and Pavic will travel with the loss to Malaga, where on Wednesday they will be part of the Spain-Croatia quarterfinals of the Davis Cup Finals

A first set that was decided on a ‘tiebreak’ and where Mektic and Pavic paid dearly for not breaking earlier, as they dropped their serve on two occasions and put themselves at the bottom.

The Croats were overwhelmed and the Anglo-American couple seized the opportunity to direct victory by breaking serve in the first game of the second stake and took advantage.

Mektic and Pavic reacted, not saying their last word, but again missed the chance to prove the break that would extend the battle to the super tiebreaker.

That ‘break’ at the start of the second set was enough for Ram and Salisbury to get personal revenge for the final that eluded them last year. The couple will receive the highest prize money in the history of tennis in doubles, almost one million dollars.

Salisbury thus became the first Briton to win the master doubles title.