Eleventh seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury halted the incredible doubles run of Australian Open wildcards Max Purcell and Luke Saville Sunday, crushing them 6-4, 6-2 in the final. The American and British pair showed their class and experience, eventually breaking in the seventh game of the opening set, and two more breaks in set two was enough to earn them the title. They only lost seven points on serve and never faced a break point. "Rajeev, I don't think I thought when I asked you to play just over a year ago that we would be standing here now but it's been an honour to play with you," said Britain's Salisbury after their first Slam title as a team. "Thank you so much for being the best partner I could get." Salisbury follows in the footsteps of Jamie Murray, who won this title in 2016 with Brazil's Bruno Soares, and joins the Scot, 2012 Wimbledon champion Jonny Marray and Roger Taylor as the only British winners of slam trophies in men's doubles in the Open era. Salisbury and Ram qualified for the ATP Finals together for the first time in November and this title will lift them to four and five in the world rankings, respectively. With their matching long, blond hair, Purcell and Saville looked like they would be more at home surfing at nearby St Kilda beach. They were not to be underestimated, though, having taken several impressive scalps this fortnight as well as a string of title wins on the second tier Challenger Tour. They were under pressure from the start and Ram and Salisbury might have forged ahead before they broke the Saville serve at 3-3 in the first set. They did not face a break point throughout the match and Salisbury in particular was outstanding. Ram won the mixed doubles here 12 months ago but, at 35, this was his first men's doubles title in his 58th slam tournament, setting an Open era record.
