Joe Salisbury taunts Team USA with doubles partner Rajeev Ram's reference after Davis Cup loss

After winning the 2022 ATP Finals alongside Britain's Joe Salisbury last week, Rajeev Ram expressed his anger and disappointment at having been left out of the United States team for the ongoing Davis Cup Finals.

Italy ended the campaign for the US in Malaga, defeating them 2-1 in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The doubles pairing of Tommy Paul and Jack Sock lost to Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini in the decisive match, urging Salisbury to take a dig at Team USA for not picking Ram.

"If only the USA had someone better for doubles... oh wait," Salisbury tagged Ram and wrote on his Instagram stories.

Ram didn't just win the ATP Finals, the US Open, and two Masters 1000 events this year (partnering Salisbury), but also helped the US reach the Davis Cup knock-out stage by winning three matches.

The 38-year-old took to social media for a cryptic post immediately after the doubles match yesterday.

"How’s everyone’s Thanksgiving going?" Ram tweeted.

When US captain Mardy Fish was questioned about his selection strategy after the loss, he stated that Ram's presence wouldn't have made a difference.

“We’ve got a lot of great players that play for the U.S. Rajeev is one of them," Fish said. "He wasn’t on the team this year, and that’s my choice. This is the team that I put on the court, and so if anyone has an issue with that, that’s on me. Rajeev has played and he’s played well. He’s played for us a few times with Jack, and this is a team that I was excited to see."

"Also, Jack and Frances are a phenomenal team. They have played and beaten some really good teams in some competitions as well, and so we had a lot of options. This was the team we went with today. But if Rajeev was here or not, those guys were going to win today. They played well and they’re too good.”

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"I was quite surprised when I wasn't picked" - Rajeev Ram

Rajeev Ram (L) and Joe Salisbury

Speaking at a press conference after winning the Nitto Atp Finals alongside Joe Salisbury last Sunday, Rajeev Ram stated that he played a crucial role in Team USA reaching the quarterfinals and felt he deserved a spot in the side.

"Very disappointed. I put in a lot of hard work this year to help the team get there. I felt like I had earned the spot, if you will. So I was quite surprised when I wasn't picked, and even more surprised to be honest that they only went with four players instead of five. That was the choice. But, yeah, I was hoping to be on the team for sure," Rajeev Ram said.