Ram/Knowle dispatched in semifinals

The pair fell to a 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes.

By ALLON SINAI
Andy Ram’s dream of reaching a second career Grand Slam final ended in disappointment at Roland Garros on Thursday.
Ram and Julian Knowle were completely outclassed for large parts of their semifinal encounter in Paris and fell to a 6-4, 6-2 defeat to the No. 3 seeds, Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes.
The Israeli/Austrian duo was broken in the first game of each set and ended up being beaten quite comfortably.
Ram was understandably frustrated with the defeat, but was satisfied with the tournament overall after playing in the semis of the French Open for the first time, meaning he has now reached at least the semifinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments.
“We began the match poorly,” Ram told The Jerusalem Post.
“I was broken in the first game and they were all over us throughout the match. They played better and they deserved to win more than us. It is disappointing for us to end the tournament in the semis because we had a chance to go all the way, but I’m pleased with our clay-court season and our overall performance in Paris.”
Ram will continue playing with Knowle in the coming weeks, including at Wimbledon in just over two weeks’ time.
“I really believe we can do well at Wimbledon,” he said. “We both lovethe grass and are very good on it, so anything can happen. On a givenday we can beat anyone.”
Despite his success with Knowle in recent weeks and achievements withMax Mirnyi last year, Ram promised he would be back playing full-timewith Yoni Erlich at the start of next year.
“We will be back together at the start of 2011 for certain,” he said.“My achievements with Yoni were my most enjoyable. I had fun withJulian and Max, but Yoni is like my brother and to win with him is acompletely different sensation.”