Pro Tennis Internet Network

Friday Briefing - Hamburg, Atlanta

HAMBURG FRIDAY PREVIEW –  SEVEN OF TOP EIGHT SEEDS HIGHLIGHT STRONG QUARTER-FINAL LINE-UP
Seven of the top eight seeds lead an outstanding quarter-final line-up on Friday at bet-at-home Open German Tennis Championships 2011. It’s the first time since 1995 in Hamburg the quarter-finals are comprised of all seeds. Overall, the quarter-finalists have combined to win 32 of 36 sets this week.

In the opening match on Centre Court, No. 4 seed and top Russian Mikhail Youzhny brings a 4-1 career mark against No. 12 seed Marin Cilic although the Croat won the last meeting in the semi-finals in Marseille in February. In their only previous clay court meeting in Munich last year, Youzhny prevailed in three sets. Youzhny, who is appearing in Hamburg for the eighth time in nine years, is making his second quarter-final showing in Hamburg (2004). Cilic, in his first Hamburg quarter-final, is into the quarters for the seventh time this season. The last Croat to reach the quarters or better in Hamburg was Mario Ancic, a semi-finalist in 2006.

Watch Live Online | Buy Tickets

In the second match, top seed and No. 1 Frenchman Gael Monfils takes on his countryman and friend, No. 5 Gilles Simon for the second time. Two years ago in the fourth round at the Australian Open, Simon led 2-1 in sets before Monfils retired with a right wrist injury. Both players are appearing in their first Hamburg quarter-final. This is the first time since 1990 two Frenchmen are in the quarter-finals in Hamburg (Forget, Leconte). Monfils is ranked a career-high No. 7 and he owns a 21-8 match record on the season (11-5 on clay). His best results this season are a pair of semi-finals and quarter-finals, including at Roland Garros. In January, Simon captured his eighth career ATP World Tour title in Sydney (d. Troicki) and he’s been a quarter-finalist in five other tournaments, including this week.

In the third match, top German and No. 6 seed Florian Mayer meets No. 3 and three-time ATP World Tour winner this season Nicolas Almagro, who owns a 3-1 lifetime advantage. Mayer, who is putting together his best season, comes in with a 32-18 match record on the year (15-7 on clay). He is the only player remaining and the highest-ranked (No. 20)  without an ATP World Tour title in his career. His best result was a runner-up in Munich in May (l. to Davydenko). Mayer also has been to the quarter-finals or better in six other tournaments. Last year Mayer reached the semi-finals here (l. to eventual champ Golubev). Almagro leads the ATP World Tour with a 28-7 clay court record (most wins) and he has captured a personal-best three titles. This is the Spaniard’s third quarter-final in Hamburg (’07. ’09).

In the final match, left-handers Fernando Verdasco, the No. 8 seed from Spain, and No. 2/last year’s runner-up Jurgen Melzer of Austria, battle it out for the eighth time (Verdasco leads 5-2). Although the Spaniard has won two of the previous three meetings on clay, Melzer won the last encounter in the third round at ATP Masters 1000 Madrid in May 2010. Verdasco, who is appearing in his third Hamburg quarter-final (2006, ’08), reached the final in San Jose (l. to Raonic) in February and Estoril (l. to del Potro) in May. Melzer’s best result this year was the semi-finals at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo in April (l. to Ferrer).

2011 CLAY COURT WINS LEADERS – Almagro leads the ATP World Tour in clay court wins this year:     W-L
1) Nicolas Almagro 28-7
2) Rafael Nadal  24-2
3) David Ferrer  22-6
4) Juan Ignacio Chela 20-10
5) Novak Djokovic  17-1

FRIDAY QUARTER-FINAL FED-EX HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play

Centre Court 

(4) Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs (12) Marin Cilic (CRO) Youzhny Leads 4-1
08 Chennai (India) Hard SF Mikhail Youzhny 6-2 6-3
08 Marseille (France) Hard R32 Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 7-6(3)
09 ATP Masters 1000 Montreal (Canada)Hard R64 Mikhail Youzhny 4-6 7-6(4) 6-1
10 Munich (Germany) Clay F Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 4-6 6-4
11 Marseille (France) Hard SF Marin Cilic 6-2 1-6 7-5

Youzhny FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Marseille (l Cilic); QF: Rotterdam (l Soderling)
YTD W-L: 17-14 (7-8 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 7
Date of Birth: June 25, 1982
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 17

* Youzhny, 29, is appearing in his first quarter-final in Hamburg since 2004 (l. to Ljubicic)...He is playing here for the ninth time in 10 years (except last year) and comes in with 8-8 record
* He leads the tournament in service games won (20 of 21, 95%) and in first serve points won (83%)
* This is his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since February when he advanced to the semi-finals in Marseille (l. to Cilic)…The week before he reached the quarters in Rotterdam (l. to Soderling)
* Has a 17-14 match record on the season (7-8 on clay)

Cilic FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
F: Marseille (l Soderling); QF: Zagreb (l Mayer); Rotterdam (l Troicki); Munich (l Davydenko); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l Nadal); London / Queen's Club (W/O vs Murray)
YTD W-L: 25-13 (10-5 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: September 28, 1988
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 32
 
*Cilic, 22, is the youngest player remaining and the lowest-seeded (12)...En route to his first quarter-final in Hamburg, has won back-to-back three setters over German qualifier Bastian Knittel in three hours and German wild card Tobias Kamke 36 63 62...He is first Croat in quarter-finals or better here since Mario Ancic reached the semi-finals in 2006
* This is the No. 2 Croat’s seventh ATP World Tour quarter-final or better of the season, his third clay court quarter-final (Munich, Rome)…His best result was a runner-up in Marseille in February (l. to Soderling)
* Has a 25-13 match record on the year (10-5 on clay)

(1)Gael Monfils (FRA) vs (5) Gilles Simon (FRA)   Simon Leads 1-0
09 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Gilles Simon                 6-4     2-6 6-1 ret  (wrist)

Monfils FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: San Jose (W/O vs Raonic); Halle (l Kohlschreiber); QF: Barcelona (l Nadal); Roland Garros (l Federer)
YTD W-L: 21-8 (11-5 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: September 1, 1986
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 7

* Monfils, 24, is making his first quarter-final appearance in Hamburg...In his previous visit five years ago, lost in the first round...Has held serve 18 of 19 games thus far, saving a tournament-best 10 of 11 break pts. (91%)
* He and Simon are the first Frenchmen to reach the quarter-finals in the same year in Hamburg since 1990 when Guy Forget and Henri Leconte advanced to the semi-finals
* This is the top Frenchman’s fifth ATP World Tour quarter-final or better of the season, his third on clay (Barcelona, Roland Garros)…His best results are the semi-finals in San Jose in February when he withdrew (vs. Raonic) due to a left wrist injury (sidelined for two months) and in Halle last month
* Has a 21-8 match record on the year (11-5 on clay)
* Parted ways with Aussie coach Roger Rasheed after Wimbledon (here with fitness coach Patrick Chamagne)

Simon FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Sydney (d Troicki); QF: Dubai (l Gasquet); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Federer); Casablanca (l Starace); Estoril (l Raonic)
YTD W-L: 27-17 (12-8 on clay)
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 8
Date of Birth: December 27, 1984
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 18

* Simon, 26, has a 6-5 career mark in Hamburg and he's appearing in his first quarter-final...His previous best result was the third round in his 2006 debut (d. No. 9 Gaudio, l. to Mirnyi)...Has won 12 of 23 return games (52%) this week
* The No. 4 Frenchman (behind No. 7 Monfils, No. 11 Gasquet, No. 15 Tsonga) has improved his ranking from No. 44 at the end of last season to No. 18 coming in this week…Has a 27-17 match record (12-8 on clay) and has already surpassed last year’s mark of 23-17
* Has 13-34 career mark vs. Top 10 foes (1-6 this year & lone win over No. 10 Fish in 3rd Rd. at Roland Garros)
* In January, he captured his eighth career ATP World Tour title in Sydney (d. Troicki) and he’s been to the quarter-finals in five other tournaments, including this week…This is third on clay (Casablanca, Estoril)

* Frenchmen in Top 30 -- Here is a look at the highest-ranked Frenchmen in the South African Airways
 2011 ATP Rankings:

7) Gael Monfils
11) Richard Gasquet
15) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
18) Gilles Simon
30) Michael Llodra

(6) Florian Mayer (GER) vs (3) Nicolas Almagro (ESP) Almagro Leads 3-1
06 Lyon (France) Carpet R16 Nicolas Almagro 7-6(5) 6-4
07 ATP World Team Chp. (Germany) Clay RR Nicolas Almagro 6-4 6-4
07 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (USA)  Hard R64 Nicolas Almagro 7-6(5) 6-4
11 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami Hard R32 Florian Mayer 6-1 3-6 6-1

Mayer FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
F: Munich (l Davydenko); SF: Sydney (l Troicki); Zagreb (l Berrer); QF: Brisbane (l Stepanek); Dubai (l Djokovic); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l Murray); Halle (l Monfils)
YTD W-L: 32-18 (15-7 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: October 5, 1983
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 20

* Mayer, 27, is trying to reach the semi-finals here for the second straight year...Went 4-5 in his first five appearances before breakthrough last season (l. to eventual champ Golubev)…Has 10-6 career mark
* The top German has already set a personal-best with 32 match wins on the season (32-18), surpassing his previous of 26 in 2006…Has a 15-7 mark on clay (8-4 last year)
* In May, he reached his fourth career ATP World Tour final in Munich (l. to Davydenko)…Overall, he’s making his eighth quarter-final or better showing this year
* The last German to reach the final/win the title in Hamburg is Michael Stich in 1993 (d. Chesnokov)

Almagro FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Costa Do Sauipe (d Dolgopolov); Buenos Aires (d Chela); Nice (d Hanescu); F: Acapulco (l Ferrer); SF: Auckland (l Nalbandian); Barcelona (l Ferrer); Bastad (l Ferrer)
YTD W-L: 37-13 (28-7 on clay)
YTD Titles: 3
Career Titles: 10
Date of Birth: August 21, 1985
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 14

* Almagro, 25, is into the quarter-finals for the third time in five years (2007, '09, DNP '08) and enters with 7-5 career mark...Has held serve 19 of 21 games (90%) this week and No. 2 in first serve points won (81%)
* He comes in with a 37-13 match record and ATP World Tour-best 28 match wins on clay (28-7 mark)              * He’s won a career-best three ATP World Tour titles, all on clay, Costa do Sauipe (d. Dolgopolov) and Buenos Aires (d. Chela) in February, and Nice (d. Hanescu) in May…Also runner-up in Acapulco (l. to Ferrer)…Simon is the other quarter-finalist to win an ATP World Tour title this season                                                                        * Has a 10-3 career record in ATP World Tour finals, all on clay, winning at least one title every year since 2006

* Spaniards in Top 25 -- Here is a look at the highest-ranked Spaniards in the South African Airways
 2011 ATP Rankings:
2) Rafael Nadal
6)  David Ferrer
14) Nicolas Almagro
22) Fernando Verdasco
24) Feliciano Lopez

(8) Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs (2) Jurgen Melzer (AUT)     Verdasco Leads 5-2
05 Kitzbuhel (Austria) Clay R16 Fernando Verdasco 1-6 6-2 6-1
06 Marseille (France) Hard R32 Fernando Verdasco 6-4 7-6(3)
06 New Haven (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Jurgen Melzer 6-4 4-1 ret
09 New Haven (U.S.A.) Hard QF Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-1
10 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami Hard R32 Fernando Verdasco 3-6 7-6(4) 6-1
10 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R16 Fernando Verdasco 3-6 7-6(1) 6-3
10 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Clay R16 Jurgen Melzer 7-5 6-3

Verdasco FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
F: San Jose (l Raonic); Estoril (l Del Potro); QF: London / Queen's Club (l Roddick)
YTD W-L: 20-14 (8-6 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: November 15, 1983
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 22

* Verdasco, 27, is appearing in the quarter-finals for the third time (2006, '08) and owns a 10-5 record...Two of his losses have come to No. 1 Federer ('05, '08)
* The Madrid native is making his fourth appearance in an ATP World Tour quarter-final or better this season…He was runner-up in San Jose (l. to Raonic) in February and in Estoril (l. to del Potro) in May
* Has a 20-14 match record on the season (8-6 on clay)
* Ranked in the Top 10 for nearly one-third of the season before falling to No. 12 on Apr. 18…Slipped out of the Top 20 on June 6 (after Roland Garros)

Melzer FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Ferrer); QF: Marseille (l Tursunov); Barcelona (l Ferrer)
YTD W-L: 17-13 (9-7 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: May 22, 1981
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 12

* Melzer, 30, is making his third quarter-final (or better) showing in Hamburg (11-6 mark)...Reached QFs in his 2004 debut (l. to Hewitt) and last year advanced to final (l. to Golubev)
* The oldest player remaining and in the current Top 20 is appearing in his fourth ATP World Tour quarter-final or better…His best result came in April at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo where he lost in the semi-finals (l. to Ferrer)
* Has a 17-13 match record on the season (9-7 on clay) and broke the Top 10 for the first time on Jan. 31 after the Australian Open…Ranked in Top 10 for 15 straight weeks from Feb. 14-May 30 before slipping out on June 6…Reached a career-high No. 8 and was there for seven weeks in a row (first on Apr. 18)


ATLANTA FRIDAY PREVIEW - TOP THREE SEEDS LEAD CHARGE INTO  QUARTER-FINALS
 The Top 3 seeds are in Friday’s quarter-finals at the Atlanta Tennis Championships, the first North American summer hard court tournament on the ATP World Tour and first stop on the Olympus US Open Series.

Buy Tickets

First up on Stadium is No. 2 seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa against Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, two of the biggest servers on the ATP World Tour (combined they have hit 42 aces in three matches so far at this event - Anderson 10 aces in his only match, Muller 32 aces in his two matches). Both lost to another big server here last year, John Isner - Muller in the second round and Anderson in the semi-finals. This will be their second meeting with Anderson winning their previous encounter in July 2008 on the grass courts of Newport.

Second up is No. 3 seed John Isner against Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei. Isner survived a near-three hour (2:50) marathon against Tampa neighbor James Blake in his opening match, firing an impressive 30 aces. Now he has a first-time meeting with Lu, who is playing in his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since he achieved the feat at one of the biggest tournaments last year at Wimbledon. Lu struggled in the first two months of the season (0-6) but since March is 9-9.

Next up is No. 1 seed and reigning champ Mardy Fish against No. 8 seed Somdev Devvarman. Exactly one year ago Fish was at No. 49 coming into this tournament, but he has risen a long way since then. He is now ranked No. 9 and the top American on the ATP World Tour. He continues his title defense against India's Devvarman, ranked No. 68. Fish has won both of their previous meetings handily in straight sets on grass, at the Queen's Club in London and Newport last season.

In the final match, 19-year-old American Ryan Harrison takes on qualifier Rajeev Ram for the first time. Harrison posted his fifth Top 50 win (of six) this season over No. 40-ranked Xavier Malisse on Thursday to reach his first ATP World Tour quarter-final in 2011. It is Harrison’s second career quarter-final (’10 Newport) on the ATP World Tour. Ram, who is the lowest-ranked player left at No. 272, defeated former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in three sets to advance to his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since Johannesburg in February 2010.

FRIDAY QUARTER-FINAL FED-EX HEAD 2 HEADS - In Order of Play

Gilles Muller (LUX) vs (2) Kevin Anderson (RSA) Anderson Leads 1-0
08 Newport (U.S.A.) Grass R32 Kevin Anderson 6-7(3)   6-3    6-3

Muller FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 8-3 (6-2 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 9, 1983
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 82

* Muller, 28, is playing in his third ATP World Tour level event of year, having reached 2nd Rd. at Australian Open (as qualifier) and 3rd Rd. of Wimbledon (as WC); has had strong results on Challenger circuit, compiling a 21-8 match record with one title and three more finals
* This is the left-hander’s second appearance at this event (3-1 record); reached 2nd Rd. last year (l. to Isner in third set TB); This week d. No. 7 seed Bogomolov Jr. and WC Ginepri in first two rounds, firing 32 aces)
* Has come back from a knee injury to rank in Top 100 again…After Aust. Open 3rd Rd., went from No. 103 to No. 91 on Feb. 7…Fell out from Mar. 7-May 30 before returning on June 6 (121-93)
* This is his first ATP World Tour level quarter-final since the ’08 US Open as a qualifier (l. to Federer)

Anderson FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Johannesburg (d Devvarman); SF: Brisbane (l Roddick); QF: Delray Beach (l Del Potro); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Djokovic); Estoril (l Verdasco)
YTD W-L: 26-16 (17-7 on hard)
YTD Titles: 1/Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: May 18, 1986
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 34
  
* Anderson, 25, is playing in his sixth ATP World Tour QF of year; best previous results have been first ATP World Tour title at Johannesburg in February and SFs in Brisbane (l. to Roddick) in January along with three more QFs at Delray Beach (l. to del Potro), Miami (l. to Djokovic) and Estoril (l. to Verdasco).
* Second appearance at this event (4-1 record); reached SFs last year (l. to Isner); is 1-0 so far this year (as No. 2 seed w/1st Rd. bye, d. Russell in 2nd Rd.)
* Came into this week No. 5 in aces (428) in the 2011 RICOH ATP MatchFacts leaders and No. 4 in break pts. saved (69%
* The top South African enters with a 26-16 match record (17-7 on hard) and two weeks ago he led his country to a 3-1 win over the Netherlands  in Davis Cup play by winning both of his singles matches and doubles match (w/De Voest)…South Africa will host Croatia in September in a World Group playoff tie

Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) vs (3) John Isner (USA)   First Meeting

Lu FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 9-15 (5-9 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: August 14, 1983
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 85

* Lu, 27, began the season 0-6 in the first two months before putting together a 9-9 mark since March
* This is the second straight tournament he’s won back-to-back matches after reaching the third round at Wimbledon with straight-set wins over No. 31 Tommy Robredo and No. 12 Viktor Troicki (l. to Llodra)
* First appearance at this event (is 2-0 so far this year - d. Bachinger and qualifier Matosevic in first two rounds)
* This is his first ATP World Tour level quarter-final since Wimbledon last year when he defeated No. 7 Andy Roddick 9-7 in the fifth set before falling to No. 3 Novak Djokovic in quarters

Isner FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Newport (d Rochus); QF: Auckland (l Nalbandian); Houston (l Karlovic)
YTD W-L: 17-14 (7-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: April 26, 1985
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 35

*Isner, 26, is coming off his second career ATP World Tour title in Newport on July 10 (d. O. Rochus)…Only lost serve once in 54 games that week…Also fired 76 aces and moved his ranking from No. 46 to No. 36
* The last three Newport winners – Rajeev Ram (2009), Mardy Fish (2010) and Isner – are in QFs here
* His previous best results of the season was the quarter-finals in Auckland (l. to Nalbandian) in January and Houston (l. to Karlovic) in April
* Last year’s Atlanta finalist (l to Fish) opened on Wednesday night firing 30 aces in a 76 67 75 win over Tampa neighbor James Blake…He is 10-3 lifetime when hitting 30-more aces
* He leads ATP World Tour with most tie-breaks won (21-15) this year and has played at least one TB in nine of past 10 matches, compiling 10-4 mark

(1)Mardy Fish (USA) vs (8) Somdev Devvarman (IND) Fish Leads 2-0
10 London / Queen's Club (Great Britain)Grass R64 Mardy Fish 6-1 6-4
10 Newport (U.S.A.) Grass R16 Mardy Fish 6-2 6-0

Fish FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Memphis (l Raonic); Delray Beach (l Del Potro); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Djokovic); QF: Houston (l Nishikori); Wimbledon (l Nadal)
YTD W-L: 23-14 (13-8 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: December 9, 1981
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 9

* Fish, 29, is trying to defend an ATP World Tour title for the first time in his career...He is the top seed this year for the second time (Houston, QFs)
* He enters with a 23-14 match record (13-8 on hard) and the No. 1 American broke the Top 10 for the first time on Apr. 18 then slipped out for next three weeks before returning on May 16 (has been there since – 10 weeks)
* He is looking to reach his fourth ATP World Tour semi-final of the season – Memphis (l. to Raonic) and Delray Beach (l. to del Potro) in February and ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l. to Djokovic) in March
* Two weeks ago, he played in U.S.-Spain Davis Cup QF tie in Austin, Texas and lost opening match to Lopez 8-6 in fifth set and then to No. 6 Ferrer in four sets in reverse singles
* Prior to that, reached his first Wimbledon quarter-final (l. to Nadal)

Devvarman FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
F: Johannesburg (l Anderson); QF: Belgrade (l Tipsarevic)
YTD W-L: 17-14 (12-7 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: February 13, 1985
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 68

* Devvarman, 26, is appearing in his third ATP World Tour quarter-final this season...In February, he reached his second final in Johannesburg, losing to Kevin Anderson…His first final came in Chennai in January 2009 (l. to Cilic)
*  The top Indian enters with a 17-14 match record (12-7 on hard) and he is looking for his first career Top 10 win (0-3)…His previous three came this year – l. to No. 2 Federer in Dubai, l. to No. 1 Nadal in Indian Wells  and No. 6 Ferrer in Miami, all in straight sets
* Reached a career-high No. 63 on July 4 after second round at Wimbledon (d. Gremelmayr, l. to No. 17 Youzhny) and this week is No. 68
* Coached by Scott McCain, who also works with Ryan Harrison (could meet in SFs)

Ryan Harrison (USA) vs (Q) Rajeev Ram (USA)  First Meeting

Harrison FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 6-10 (5-5 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 7, 1992
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 120

* Harrison, 19, posted his fifth Top 50 win (of six overall) this season over No. 40-ranked Xavier Malisse on Thursday to reach his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season and second of career (’10 Newport)…He was last direct entry into main draw
* He reached a career-high No. 101 on July 4 after reaching the second round at Wimbledon (d. No. 37 Dodig, l. to No. 6 Ferrer in five sets) as a lucky loser
* In Newport, captured his first ATP World Tour doubles title (w/Ebden, d. Brunstrom-Shamasdin) and only teenager to win a singles or doubles crown this season
* In March, advanced to the fourth round at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells, posting wins over No. 49 Chardy, No. 25 Garcia-Lopez and No. 37 Raonic before losing to No. 2 Federer 76 63

Ram FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 2-1 (2-1 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: March 18, 1984
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 272

*Ram, 27, who is the lowest-ranked player left at No. 272, qualified into the main draw and defeated No. 5 seed Grigor Dimitrov and former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in three sets to advance to his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since Johannesburg in February 2010
*The Indiana resident came in 0-1 in singles play this season and a winner of two ATP World Tour doubles titles (w/Lipsky) in San Jose and Delray Beach…Also runner-up in Johannesburg
* Two years ago he captured his first ATP singles title in Newport (d. Querrey) and reached a career-high No. 78 in November ’09…In February 2010, ranked a personal-best No. 33 in doubles

Facebook Fans


Search News

Advertisement

More Photos

More Videos

FedEx ATP Head 2 Head

Enter the last names of two players and select from the list to see how they compare.

VS

Get Your ATP
Fan Credential

  • Insider News 
  • Daily Results
  • Mobile Alerts
  • Ticket Offers

© copyright/database right 2012 ATP Tour, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way or by any means (including photocopying, recording or storing it in any medium by electronic means), without the written permission of ATP Tour, Inc.

Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Enable Mobile

EmailEmailDeliciousDeliciousDiggDiggFacebookFacebookMixxMixxRedditRedditStumbleUponStumbleUpon