NITTO ATP FINALS

November 21, 2021

Rajeev Ram

Joe Salisbury

Pala Alpitour, Torino

Press Conference

HERBERT-MAHUT/Ram-Salisbury

6-4, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Obviously not the result you were looking for, but it seemed like they played a pretty flawless match.

JOE SALISBURY: Yeah, obviously disappointing. I think it was a bit a combination of them playing very well. I thought they served very well, especially, and we didn't quite find it today. We didn't play our best.

But, yeah, I think that was partly how they were playing. Yeah, we just couldn't quite get it going.

Q. I know you both have Davis Cup. I mean, if you look back at this sort of this season as a whole so far, you basically have to be pretty pleased with how it's gone.

RAJEEV RAM: Yeah, no, obviously 10 minutes after a tough loss in a big tournament, obviously perspective is maybe a little bit difficult.

But yeah, I mean, look, at the end of the day if we have a season like this, we're going to sign up for it every time. Unfortunately we couldn't win today, but, yeah, it was a great season for us, no question.

Q. Joe, you're very likely to come up against these two at Davis Cup, as well. How different do you see that? You'll be playing with a different partner. I guess it could be a very crucial rubber in terms of Britain's campaign.

JOE SALISBURY: Yeah, definitely. I mean, obviously be expecting a very tough match. Yeah, I'm confident that I can definitely play better than I did today.

Yeah, we know whatever our team is for Davis Cup, for the doubles, assuming it's against those guys, then we're going to have to play very well to get the win.

But, yeah, I'm confident we can do that.

Q. Rajeev, regarding the Davis Cup, what is the transition going to be now? You'll be playing with Jack, I assume, in Davis Cup. When are the other guys coming in? When will you start practicing with them? What do you think about the format?

RAJEEV RAM: Yeah, definitely we'll practice this week with them. Obviously I've never played with Jack before, so it's going to be trying to get used to that as quickly as possible. They all get here on Monday, which is tomorrow. I assume we'll probably start on Tuesday. At least I'll start on Tuesday.

Yeah, it's a huge event. For us it's a huge event in tennis. I know on my team, we're all looking forward to it greatly. Our first match is against Italy at home for them. I assume the atmosphere is going to be pretty rocking here. I think it's going to be great.

Yeah, I'm pumped to get back out there and do my best for the U.S.

Q. Joe, have you had a chance yet to talk with your Davis Cup colleagues about the fact that this is going to be behind closed doors now? Coming at the end of the season, obviously it's been a pretty long year for you, do you think that whole dynamic is perhaps going to be quite difficult to sort of get everyone up for?

JOE SALISBURY: Don't think so, no. I mean, it's my first Davis Cup, so obviously I have haven't experienced it with the crowds. Obviously it's disappointing there won't be any, at least for the group stages in Innsbruck.

But I think it's a huge event. We're all really up for it whether there's fans there watching or not. I think we've got a good team. We've got good support staff there. I think we'll be able to create our own atmosphere. I think we're going to be just as fired up for it as we would be.

Q. Joe, playing with Neal, you haven't played much together. You did win the title in San Diego. How do you feel you complement each other as partners?

JOE SALISBURY: Yeah, really well. I mean, whenever we played together in the past, we've done well. Yeah, I enjoyed playing with him. He's always got a great attitude on court. He's had some really good results this year. We enjoy playing together.

If it's us that's out there for doubles, I know we're going to embrace it and know that we can have some good results.