Ram and Erlich beaten by Bryans in Cincinnati semifinal

The Israelis only lost their serve once during the entire match, but a single break was all the Bryans needed for victory.

By ALLON SINAI
ram and erlich 88 (photo credit: )
ram and erlich 88
(photo credit: )
Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich came up short against the world's number one doubles team in Cincinnati on Saturday, losing 7-6 (4), 6-3 to American twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan. The Israelis only lost their serve once during the entire match, but a single break was all the Bryans needed for victory. Neither team lost its serve during the first set and ultimately it had to be decided by a tiebreaker. After the Americans raced forward at the start of the breaker to take a 4-1 lead, Ram and Erlich were unable to fight back. The Bryans broke in the second game of the second set to go up 3-1. Ram and Erlich couldn't break down the Bryans' service games and could only muster one break point attempt in the two sets. Ram and Erlich booked the semifinal meeting with the Bryans after defeating Russian pair Marat Safin and Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-2, on Thursday. Pe'er doesn't make it to Sunday Shahar Pe'er's week at the Rogers Cup in Montreal came to an end after the Israeli lost in the doubles semifinals on Saturday and singles quarterfinals on Friday. In the doubles, Pe'er and French partner Marion Bartoli lost 6-3, 6-3 to Martina Navratilova and Nadia Petrova in the semis. Pe'er and Bartoli reached the semis after defeating Czech Kveta Peschke and Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 on Friday and also defeated Ukrainian sisters Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday. Despite having only a few hours of rest after their epic match against each other Thursday evening, Pe'er and Bartoli worked together and overcame the Bondarenkos. The Israeli number one lost 7-6(3), 7-5 to Russian Anna Chakvetadze in the singles quarterfinals. Pe'er paid the price for squandering nine break points during the match (4 of 15). On the other hand, Chakvetadze was composed in all of the important points and took advantage of five of her seven break points. Pe'er began the match poorly and fell behind 3-0. The 19-year-old Israeli came back to tie the set at 3-3, but Chakvetadze, who is ranked 31st in the world, won the next two games and got a chance to serve for the set. Pe'er (25) saved two set points and won two straight games to tie the set at 5-5. The Russian squandered another set point in the 12th game of the set, but finally won it after a tiebreaker. The start of the second set was similar to the first with Chakvetadze the more composed player. The Russian took an early 3-1 lead but Pe'er's resilience got her back into the match and the Israeli tied the set at 5-5. However, that proved to be Pe'er's last point in the match after Chakvetadze won eight straight points. Despite losing, Pe'er is expected to climb to a career high 21 in the next world rankings and will also take home a check for $25,000 for her efforts in Montreal.