Rajeev Ram Bows Out as Skupski and Harrison Set Up US Open Final Showdown
Rajeev Ram walked off Louis Armstrong Stadium for the last time with a defeat on the scoreboard, but the night still felt like a tribute. His career closed, his partnership with Joe Salisbury ended, and a new chapter in men’s doubles took centre stage.
Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz made sure of that. The German pair were ruthless, cutting short the British-American team’s charge with a 6-3, 6-4 win that sent them into the US Open men’s doubles final and stopped Salisbury from reaching a fifth title match in six years.
Ram’s farewell, Salisbury’s near-miss
This was not just another semi-final. It was the end of one of the great modern doubles partnerships.
Salisbury and Ram arrived in New York as three-time defending champions, the only team ever to win the US Open men’s doubles in three straight years, from 2021 to 2023. Four Grand Slam titles together, countless pressure points survived, and a near-automatic presence in the business end of majors.
On Louis Armstrong, though, their run finally met a wall. Krawietz and Puetz struck early, controlled the baseline exchanges, and never really loosened their grip. A break in each set was enough. No drama, no escape act this time.
For Ram, that was the full stop. After his final match, he made it clear the stage and the setting mattered as much as the result. Louis Armstrong, the US Open, Salisbury by his side – this was where so many of their most intense battles had played out, where their partnership had been immortalised on posters and in memories.
The scoreboard said goodbye. The stadium gave him something closer to a salute.
Skupski and Harrison await
Waiting for Krawietz and Puetz in the final are Neal Skupski and Lloyd Harrison, a British-American combination at the start of their story rather than the end of it.
They will meet on Saturday 12 September, a clash between the fifth and sixth seeds that feels finely balanced and quietly combustible. This will be only the second time these pairs have faced each other. The first? Adelaide, where the Germans edged it 6-3, 2-6, 10-5 in a match tiebreak that hinted at how tight this rivalry could become.
Skupski and Harrison have wasted no time in making an impact. Still in their first season as a team, they ripped through the early part of the year and stunned the field by winning the Australian Open in just their second tournament together. New pairing, instant chemistry, major champions almost overnight.
Krawietz and Puetz bring a very different profile. They are the seasoned duo, the 2024 ATP Finals champions, a partnership built over years rather than months. They have been in this exact position before, standing one match away from a Slam title, only to see it slip away in the 2024 US Open final against Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson.
They know the route to a major. They also know how much it hurts to fall one step short.
A final with everything on the line
So the stage is set: the explosive newcomers against the established specialists still hunting that elusive first Grand Slam together.
Skupski and Harrison chase a second major in their debut season as a team. Krawietz and Puetz chase validation for years of work at the top level. One side trying to turn momentum into a dynasty, the other trying to make sure their peak years are marked by more than near-misses.
The Ram–Salisbury era at the US Open is over. On Saturday, a new team gets the chance to own this court, this tournament, this moment.
