Andy Ram

"I really enjoyed playing tennis, because when I was six or seven years old and winning tournaments it felt good", said Ram. "From when I was 8 or 10 I knew it was going to be a career for me. It's a tennis life so it wasn't so easy. You have to give up many things. When all my friends were playing outside I had to practice. I didn't go to all the school trips. But I was focused from a very young age. I grew up practicing at the Jerusalem tennis center. I spent most of my childhood there, practicing five days a week. I never regretted it and I enjoyed every moment. Now I am reaping the rewards."[6]

Ram was trained by Ronen Moralli at the Israel Tennis Centers in Jerusalem. "My first inspiration was Jo Jo Lizmi, the famous Jerusalem tennis coach, who showed me all the basic techniques. I was with him four or five years and he taught me everything – how to hold the racket, forehand, and backhand. He was very tough."[6] "But the man who really developed my game was Ronen Moralli", says Ram. "He was with me in Jerusalem from when I was 10 years old, but then he moved to Wingate as the national coach." Moralli recalls: "When I worked with Andy at the Jerusalem Tennis Center he was very very energetic and full of passion. His technical abilities weren't as good as the other kids, but he had an understanding of the game. It was something spectacular. He knew when to come to the net, when to stay back. This is something you are born with. Either you have it or you don't. You can teach it, but only up to a certain point, and Andy was born with it."[6]

When he was 15 he was sent to the Wingate Institute, where young Israeli athletes are groomed to become professionals.[9] "It wasn't easy being far away from your family", Ram remembers, "but you know it is going to be your profession and that's what you are going to try to do for life. You practice twice a day and fit in school in between."[6] He became a professional tennis player in 1996, at the age of 16, but did not compete in a Grand Slam tournament until 2001 when he appeared in the Wimbledon doubles with Erlich.[10]

Ram/Erlich at the 2008 Gerry Weber Open

It was at Wingate that he first met Jonathan Erlich, his future doubles partner who was also born in South America. Ram said: "We have known each other for many years. When he was 17 we met at Wingate and ever since we have been practicing together. We grew up together and we complete each other off and on court – the first rule of doubles is communication."[6] He adds: "Yoni and I are very proud of being Israelis. They love us all around the world, and there is a big Jewish community around the world that supports us.... All over the world it is like this. When we go to Beijing even the Chinese Jews cheer for us."[6]

In 2002 Ram was injured, and did not play because he had knee surgery and back surgery. He was on crutches for two months, could not walk, and considered giving up tennis."[6]

In 2003 Ram won the doubles title at the RCA Championship with Croatian Mario Ančić.[11]

With partner Jonathan Erlich, his groundbreaking achievement was their reaching the semifinals of the Wimbledon championships in 2003 as unknown qualifiers. They defeated three seeded opponents en route to the semifinals. In the quarterfinals, in a match in which neither side broke service, Ram and Erlich defeated No. 2 seeded Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor in straight sets: 7–6, 7–6, 7–6. In the semis, Ram and Erlich – the first Israelis to ever advance to the semifinals in any Grand Slam event – lost to the defending Wimbledon champions, Jonas Björkman and Todd Woodbridge.[12]

Ram reached the 2003 Wimbledon mixed doubles final with Anastassia Rodionova of Russia. The couple lost to tennis legend Martina Navratilova and Leander Paes.[13]

Ram felt at that point that he had to choose whether to focus on doubles or singles, as he felt it would be tough to combine the two. He chose to concentrate on doubles.[6]

Ram and Erlich then won the Thailand Open in September and the Lyon tournament in October 2003. They also won first place in Indianapolis, Istanbul, India, Rotterdam, and Milan.[4]

Ram competed in the mixed doubles event at the 2004 French Open with partner Petra Mandula of Hungary, and made it as far as the quarterfinals where they lost to Daniela Hantuchová and doubles ace Todd Woodbridge.[14] Ram and Erlich were triumphant yet again in the Lyon International Series tournament in October 2004. They defeated Jonas Björkman and Radek Štěpánek in the final with a 7–6, 6–2 victory.[4]

In the 2005 Australian Open Ram paired up with Conchita Martínez of Spain in the mixed doubles event. Martinez and Ram pulled off an impressive coup in the quarterfinals, beating top seeds Daniel Nestor and Rennae Stubbs 7–5, 6–7, 7–6. They fell in the semifinals to Aussie pair Scott Draper and Samantha Stosur 7–5, 6–3.[15]

Ram and Erlich won their fourth major tournament in Rotterdam in February 2005, beating Czechs Cyril Suk and Pavel Vízner for the honors. They missed the 2005 French Open grand slam tournament, as Ram's father had died as he was preparing to fly to France.

In August 2005, playing singles he defeated world # 56 Ricardo Mello of Brazil 6–1, 6–4, at the New Haven International.[16]

Ram and Erlich played in the mixed doubles competition in Wimbledon 2005. They faced Kevin Ullyett and Liezel Huber in the quarterfinals, and were eliminated 6–4, 3–6, 8–6.[4] They reached 8th place in the doubles race ranking at the end of 2005, and served as alternates at the Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Ram with his mixed doubles partner at the US Open, 2007.

At the 2007 French Open, Ram, along with his partner, Nathalie Dechy, won the Mixed Doubles competition.[17] Ram and Dechy teamed up together again to compete in the 2007 Wimbledon Championships, losing in the third round to 9th-ranked Marcin Matkowski and Cara Black 6–3, 6–4.[18]

At Cincinnati, at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, in August he and Erlich won, upsetting the world # 1 Bryan brothers in the final 4–6, 6–3, 13–11.[19] At the US Open, he played doubles with Erlich, losing in the round of 16 to the eventual winners Simon Aspelin and Julian Simon 5–7, 6–7. In mixed doubles with Nathalie Dechy he made it to the quarter finals.[4]

At the 2008 Australian Open Ram and Erlich won the Men's Doubles Championship in straight sets over Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra 7–5, 7–6. This was the duo's first Grand Slam win after numerous ATP titles, and was also Israel's first ever Grand Slam trophy in Men's Doubles.[20] The duo also won the Masters Series event at Indian Wells, California by defeating the team of Nestor and Zimonic in the finals. After Erlich's injury, Ram was playing with other partners and won indoor titles in Vienna (with Max Mirnyi) and Lyon (with Llodra).[4]

At the 2009 Australian Open Ram and Nathalie Dechy, unseeded at the start of the tournament, defeated two seeded pairs and reached the finals, where they lost to another unseeded pair, Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupati from India, 3–6, 1–6.[21] Later Ram won the Miami Masters tournament with Mirnyi after reaching finals in the Indian Wells Masters. Ram partnered Erlich once again at Israel Open ATP Challenger tournament in Ramat Hasharon in May, but after losing in the final he announced his decision to keep partnering with Mirnyi until the end of 2009 season (with the exception of a Davis Cup match against Russia, where he would partner with Erlich).[22]

He partnered with Julian Knowle for the 2010 French Open. They reached the semi-finals, which was the best result for either player at the French Open.[4]

In 2011, Ram and Erlich won both the 2011 Winston-Salem Open and the Eastbourne International tournament.[23]

In May 2012, Ram and Erlich won the Serbia Open in Belgrade.[24]

In May 2014, at age 34, he announced his retirement, to take effect after Israel's Davis Cup tie in September.[25]