Defending champions Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram are into their third successive men's doubles US Open final after defeating second seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.

The third seeds won 7-5 3-6 6-3 against Croatia's Dodig and American Krajicek.

They will face India's Rohan Bopanna, a finalist in 2010, and Australia's Matthew Ebden in Friday's final.

Ram was emotional as he and Salisbury, who have had a disappointing 2023 season, became the first pair to reach three successive US Open men's doubles finals since Australia's Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde did so between 1994 and 1996.

"It's been a tough year for us. To play to this level and stick together like we did, we beat probably the best team of the year," Ram said in his on-court interview.

"It was a lot to stick it out for two hours out here on the court and I just think we did great, I am so proud of our performance."

The 39-year-old, who is playing in his 23rd US Open, was fuelled on in the 35C-plus temperatures by a mid-match meal of sushi.

"It was so hot earlier and I couldn't eat as much as a I wanted before the match," Ram explained.

"In the warm-up it felt like I was sweating buckets. It felt like I was depleted a little bit. I got my boy to get me a bit of sushi and I think it helped."

Aiming to win their fourth major title together at Flushing Meadows, having also won the Australian Open in 2020, Salisbury and Ram were made to wait in the first set before making their move at 5-5 to break before serving out the set.

They were unable to convert the first break point of the second set, which allowed for a momentum shift on Louis Armstrong Stadium as Dodig and Krajicek broke Salisbury's serve for a 5-3 lead as they held to level the match.

However, Salisbury and Ram raced to a 3-0 advantage in the decider as the American secured the key break with a forehand down the line before wrapping up the match with an unreturnable serve on match point.

When they won against Briton Neal Skupski and Dutchman Wesley Koolhof in last year's final they became the the first pair this century to retain the men's doubles title in New York.

"It's pretty amazing. We didn't think we would be here. It's not been the best year for us, but there is something about this place that is very special and seems to bring out the best of us," Salisbury said.

"Obviously, we are going for three in a row but I don't think we'll be thinking about that too much."

No team in the Open era has won three successive US Open men's doubles titles.

Final opponents Bopanna and Ebden, the sixth seeds, reached the showpiece with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victory over French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.