Doubles duo Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich will finally start their week.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Shahar Pe'er and Anna Smashnova each recorded second-round wins on Wednesday at their respective WTA Tour events in Europe.
Pe'er, the top-ranked Israeli at No. 35 in the world, scraped by Zuzana Ondraskova (96) of the Czech Republic 7-6(6), 0-6, 6-3 at the Prague Open. The third-seeded Israeli will next meet the eighth seed, Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko (68) in the quarterfinals on Friday.
On Thursday, Pe'er will team with France's Marion Bartoli to take on locals Lucie Hradecka and Vladimira Uhlirova in the doubles semifinals.
Smashnova (49) downed Virginie Razzano (64) of France 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 to set up a clash with Swiss star Patty Schnyder (9) in the third round of the German Open in Berlin.
In men's action, the doubles duo of Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich will finally start their week when they take on Jarkko Nieminen of Finland and Belgium's Olivier Rochus in the second round of the Internazionali D'Italia in Rome. The sixth-seeded Israelis benefited from a first-round bye at the clay-court tourney.
Ram asked the Israel Tennis Association this week to hold this year's Israeli Championships in Jerusalem in honor of his father, Ami Ram, who passed away last year. The tournament, scheduled for the end of the season, has taken place in Ra'anana in recent years.
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