Joe Salisbury came within one win of capturing his third Nitto ATP Finals trophy on Saturday when he teamed with Neal Skupski to defeat Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool 6-7(3), 6-3, 10-8.
Cash and Glasspool claimed the No. 1 spot in the year-end ATP Doubles presented by PIF Awards earlier this week after their standout seven-title season. However, they could not end their year with an appearance in the championship match in Turin, with Salisbury and Skupski reaching a dramatic semi-final in one hour and 31 minutes.
Salisbury has now won his past fourteen matches at the Nitto ATP Finals, having triumphed in Turin in 2022 and 2023 with Rajeev Ram. The 33-year-old did not qualify for the tournament last year. Skupski will be in the final of the seasonal event for the first time and he and Salisbury will face Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten in the final on Sunday at 3pm local time (CET).
In a close match, the teams were little separated in the first set, with only one break point, leaving a tie-break to decide the opener. Cash and Glasspool played the more proactive tennis in the breaker and hit a few shots to take the lead.
However, Salisbury and Skupski got an early break of serve at the start of the second set to swing the momentum their way and were rock solid on serve, winning 94 percent of the points on their first roll of the set. The fifth seeds then managed to reach the final via a nerve-wracking tie-break.
Salisbury and Skupski have a record of 46-21 this season and will look for their first title of 2025 together this week. The British reached the finals at Roland Garros and the US Open.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
#Salisbury #returns #Nitto #ATP #Finals #title #match #firsttime #finalist #Skupski