Ram & Erlich hoist trophy in Belgrade
05/06/2012 23:51
Shahar Pe’er (54) advances to the second round of the Madrid Open.
Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich Photo: REUTERS
Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich won their 15th career title together and their first in
2012 with a 4-6, 6-2, 10-6 win over Martin Emmrich and Andreas Siljestrom in the
final of the Serbia Open in Belgrade on Sunday.
The Israeli duo hadn’t
won a title since finishing in the winners’ circle at the Winston- Salem Open
last August, losing in their only final of this year until Sunday in the Chennai
Open in India in January.
The Israelis looked to be in trouble after
dropping the first set on Sunday, but broke twice in the second set to tie the
match and clinched their first-ever title on clay after winning seven of eight
service points in the deciding Match Tie-break.
“We are very happy at
claiming our first title of the year, and first ever on clay after some close
calls,” Erlich said.
“We played really good tennis and this is a direct
continuation to our form all year, which has been excellent.
“I believe
that with a lot of patience we will get back to where we deserve to be because
we have been playing at a high level for a long time.”
Sunday’s win is
not only good news for the Israelis ahead of the start of the French Open at the
end of this month, but it is also a significant step for the duo on its way to
securing its place at this summer’s London Olympics.
Ram and Erlich
entered the week ranked 50th and 48th in the world, respectively, with only 24
teams to automatically qualify for the Olympics as per the rankings on June 11,
subject to a maximum of two teams per nation.
Also Sunday, Shahar Pe’er
(54) advanced to the second round of the Madrid Open, recording just her second
victory of the season over a superiorly ranked player by beating Polona Hercog
(37) 6-3, 7-5.
Besides her victory over then No. 13 Jelena Jankovic in
Doha in February, Pe’er had registered just a single win over a top-50 player
this season before Sunday, beating No. 49 Lucie Hradecka in January.
For
once, Pe’er managed to serve consistently well on Sunday, saving all three break
points Hercog reached in the one hour and 31 minute match.
Next up for
Pe’er is a meeting with Varvara Lepchenko (73), who stunned world No. 11
Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3 in the first round.