Davis Cup - Israel complete Russia upset

Eurosport - Mon, 13 Jul 11:14:00 2009

Israel reached the Davis Cup semi-finals for the first time after Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich gave them an unbeatable 3-0 lead over Russia in their World Group quarter-final in Tel Aviv.

TENNIS Israel's captain Eyal Ran is lifted by his team players as they celebrate their victory over Russia Davis Cup 2009 - 0

The experienced pairing of Ram and Erlich thrilled the home supporters to beat Russia's Marat Safin and Igor Kunitsyn 6-3 6-4 6-7 4-6 6-4 in the doubles.

"Everybody has dreams but there are some you don't allow yourself to have and beating Russia 3-0 was just like that... but we have done it," Erlich said.

Ram added: "For the first time I have absolutely nothing to say, usually I just can't stop talking and I started to cry like a little boy."

The players and the capacity 11,000 crowd endured a rollercoaster of emotions after the Israeli duo let a two-set lead slip through their fingers and allowed the Russians back into the match.

The Israelis appeared to be running out of steam as the match progressed but the crowd roared them on to victory.

"The crowd, the atmosphere here, they made me play four times better than I have been playing recently," Ram said.

He also praised his partner Erlich, with whom he won the 2008 Australian Open title.

"I didn't play well today, we had hoped we could finish it in three sets but Yoni (Jonathan) was excellent, I'm so pleased to see him back in form after recovering from his injury," Ram said.

Erlich was sidelined by an elbow injury for over a year and Saturday's partnership with Ram was their first Davis Cup outing together in over a year.

Israel took a surprise 2-0 lead in the opening singles on Friday when 210th-ranked Harel Levy upset the formbook to beat Igor Andreev 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-2 before Israeli number one Dudi Sela beat Mikhail Youzhny.

Israel will play the winners of the quarter-final tie between champions Spain and Germany from September 18 to 20.

Reuters

Comment 3 - 22 of 22

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  1. Igor Andreev's gameplay can be fairly one­ dimensional, so that loss while still an upset,­ wasn't massively surprising. But Youzny losing to­ Ram was the big surprise to me, you got to hand it to­ the Israelis, it's a tremendous win. But I think­ they aren't going to get any further, either­ Germany or Spain I imagine will beat them­ comprehensively. It should be interesting.

    From nabil_anwer, on Sun 12 Jul 6:02PM

  2. I which I was,the,guy in the blue shirt,i would NEVER­ LET GO;D
    Hihihihihihihihhihihihhihihihihihi
    Love Jess­ xxx

    From hadjeseles, on Sun 12 Jul 3:48PM

  3. I love the Mossad!

    From y.soserius, on Sun 12 Jul 3:20PM

  4. Apart from the memories ;)

    From Nicholas, on Sun 12 Jul 2:35PM

  5. Yeah Alcock, everything is lost for us for this year­ Davis cup.

    From Olga, on Sun 12 Jul 1:48PM

  6. Cannot agree Olga I was quite suprised the­ Russian's got a set in the doubles, so not all is­ lost.

    From Nicholas, on Sun 12 Jul 1:09PM

  7. Russian male team is rubbish. Can do nothing.­ Especially Andreev. Boyhood on the court. No temper, no­ sense, no will to win. Shame.

    From Olga, on Sun 12 Jul 12:39PM

  8. Dudi Sela's recent form - last 16 of Wimbledon and­ the previous Davis cup wins made his win over Youzny­ less than sensational, especially in front of a home­ crowd; Ram & Erlich, in spite of Erlich's many­ months out with injury still have the coordination that­ took them to win the Australian Open and remain ranked­ in the top 10 doubles partners in recent years - the­ big unexpected surprise was the level of tennis played­ by Harel Levy, ranked 210 in beating Igor Andreyev,­ Russia's current top-ranked player and furthermore­ making it look like an easy match. Levy in his long and­ inconsistent career has beaten Sampras too. That's­ the beauty of the game of tennis - nothing can be taken­ for granted on the right day.

    From adrian w, on Sun 12 Jul 12:03AM
  9. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Has anybody seen Susan Boyle,my mother?She left me from­ one day to another:-( hhihiihiihihihihihihiii
    Love­ rc_alcock or David

    From rc_allcock, on Sat 11 Jul 6:15PM
  10. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Hello guys;D
    Jess xxx

    From jess_the_french_shirt_lifter, on Sat 11 Jul 6:11PM
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    But most of,alli love­ myself;D
    Hihihihihihihihihihihihhihihihihhi
    Love Jess­ (shirt lifter)

    From rc_allcock, on Sat 11 Jul 5:29PM
  12. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    rc_allcock how do you think andy murray is the best? he­ is a fake!!!

    From IONEL, on Sat 11 Jul 5:26PM
  13. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    The truth behind the scenes is as follows: Sandy, the­ "Mossad" agent , took the Russian players to­ the "Shabac" facility in one of the­ settlements where a Saffn look alike was prepared. He­ is now playing on court while the real Safin is­ celebrating (we leave the "how" to your­ imagination. As a hint, it includes humans and liquids,­ not necessarily in this order). Well done!

    From EliR, on Sat 11 Jul 3:04PM
  14. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    The Russians should have brought their females team -­ they would have performed better...But the competition­ is not over yet. Just 2:0 for Israel in the­ doubles...So we wait patiently and hope for good!

    From EliR, on Sat 11 Jul 2:34PM

  15. MAYBE SAFIN SHOULD HAVE PLAYED THE SINGLES ~~
    OR­ PERHAPS SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA ... ! ,,??

    From pitcrew66, on Sat 11 Jul 12:13PM

  16. So a big shock for russia then good luck guys.

    From AJ, on Sat 11 Jul 11:46AM
  17. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Sela is amazing........ Levy is rubbish.....

    COME ON­ ISRAEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From frazzeyjp, on Sat 11 Jul 11:25AM
  18. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    CROATIA WILL WIN THE DAVIS CUP! WE ARE 2-0 AGAINST USA!

    From najbolji2323, on Sat 11 Jul 5:49AM

  19. David will beat Goliath - again!

    From gordon.merk, on Fri 10 Jul 9:49PM

  20. That's a wonderful performance by the Israeli­ players! I feel sorry for the Russian team, I'm­ their great fan, but today I support Israel. Kadima,­ Israel!

    From veksiv, on Fri 10 Jul 9:17PM
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