US OPEN

September 9, 2021

Rajeev Ram

Joe Salisbury

Press Conference

RAM-SALISBURY/Johnson-Querrey

7-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Can I get both of your thoughts on the match, please? Start with you, Joe.

JOE SALISBURY: Yeah, obviously excited to come through. Yeah, knew it was going to be a tough match. Very dangerous team. Both have got big games, so if they play well, then it can kind of take it out of your hands.

But, yeah, just happy how we stayed focused on what we do well. We served well throughout. Didn't get broken. Took it to a tiebreak and played some good points in the tiebreak to come through. We knew, yeah, it could come down to that.

Then, yeah, second set I think we started to feel a bit more comfortable on some of the return games. Played a really good game at 4-All, and then Raj played a great game to serve it out.

Happy with the level we played.

RAJEEV RAM: Like he said, they're a tough team. They play well, especially when they play in America. We knew we were in for it. I agree with everything he said. Yeah, just felt like we were in control of what we wanted to do out there, and it worked out for us.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. The two of you, since you started together, have been quite consistent at the majors. I'm curious why you think that is, why you have been able to do so well at the biggest tournaments?

JOE SALISBURY: I mean, I suppose obviously those are the tournaments that we're focused on. Those are the tournaments we kind of build up for. All our training and tournaments before that, they are all kind of building up to perform as well as we can at the majors, which I'm sure is, I suppose, what most people would be doing, as well.

Yeah, we really try to focus on the big tournaments and be ready for that. I think we believe that, yeah, we play our best tennis in the big moments, at the big tournaments.

Yeah, that's it, really. Apart from those things, there is nothing major that stands out.

Q. Raj, when you guys get through a match like you just had the other day, just absolutely crazy, how much does that free you up to sort of make sure you play your best tennis in the next match?

RAJEEV RAM: Well, I don't know if it frees us up, but certainly you feel match-tough. You know, you feel like you're ready to handle whatever is going to come your way.

We saved, I don't know, four match points and whatever it was in the round before, and even the round before that it was still a third-set breaker. We didn't save any match points, but it was a close match.

I just feel like when you kind of get through one of those or two of those, you feel like, yeah, if it's a breaker, if it's 5-All, 6-All, deep in a set, third set, whatever it may be, if you feel it's not new territory and you're kind of comfortable with difficult situations, I think that's more of it than anything.

Certainly nice to -- yeah, obviously goes without saying, it's nice to get through matches like that, because it definitely helps later on.

Q. Joe, if you don't mind, can we look ahead? Obviously Jamie and Bruno are very familiar. Peers and Polasek, a pretty new team. Can you look at the both of those teams?

JOE SALISBURY: Yeah, I mean, we know all those guys pretty well. Like you said, we played Jamie and Bruno quite a few times before, know them really well. And then, yeah, Peers, Polasek, we haven't played them together. It's a pretty new team, but we played them both separately quite a few times. Obviously we'd have to maybe look into that a little bit more to see how they play together.

Yeah, obviously both really good teams. We know them well. I think it's going to be more about what we do on the court and whoever performs better on the day.

Q. Raj, obviously you guys have won a major title together, you've been in multiple major finals together. How much does that help in the lead-up to such a high-pressure moment, especially at your home slam?

RAJEEV RAM: Yeah, I mean, it helps a lot. I think just to figure it out or just realize today was I think our fifth semi in our last seven slams or something thereabouts, so we are feeling like in these positions we have been there before, and now it's going to be our third final together.

Yeah, look, I think experience never hurts when you feel like you can draw on something that's happened before. That being said, the guys we are going to play, either one of them, they have all been in these positions before, so I think it's not going to be -- you know, everyone is going to be feeling quite comfortable out there.

I think, like Joe said, it's going to be about who executes better on the day.