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Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram have become the sixth team to qualify for the 2016 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. There are now two doubles spots left up for grabs at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 13-20 November.
The South African-American tandem qualified for the first time as a result of Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau beating Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi in the Swiss Indoors Basel quarter-finals on Thursday. Rojer and Tecau, who captured the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and year-end No. 1 last year, are currently No. 9 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London - one spot adrift from Huey and Mirnyi.

Klaasen and Ram have compiled a 31-18 match record on the season, including a 2-3 record in title matches. They lifted ATP World Tour titles at the Chengdu Open (d. Carreno Busta/Fyrstenberg) and the Gerry Weber Open (d. Kubot/Peya). The duo also reached finals at the Miami Open presented by Itau (l. to Herbert/Mahut), the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open (l. to Johnson/Querrey) and the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2016 (l. to Granollers/Matkowski).
Klaasen and Ram will join Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez and Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo in the English capital.

Marathon matches galore in Halle and London on Thursday
Rajeev Ram picked up his 200th ATP World Tour doubles victory on Thursday at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, teaming with Raven Klaasen for a marathon 6-7(7), 7-6(5), 10-5 quarter-final win over local qualifiers Andre Begemann and Tim Puetz.
The second seeds and two-time defending champions missed a set point at 6/5 in the first-set tie-break, but regrouped to prevail in one hour and 47 minutes. Next up for Klaasen/Ram are another pair of Germans in brothers Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev.
Top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo continued their top grass-court form with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Spaniards Roberto Bautista Agut and David Ferrer. Kubot/Melo are still unbeaten on grass this year after taking the title last week in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (d. Klaasen/Ram).
Awaiting them in the semi-finals are Fabrice Martin and Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who saved a set point in the first-set tie-break en route to defeating third seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 7-6(7), 6-3.
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Over at the Aegon Championships in London, third seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares defeated reigning Roland Garros champions Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus 7-6(1), 4-6, 10-6 to reach the semi-finals. Murray/Soares are also unbeaten on grass this year after prevailing last week in Stuttgart (d. Marach/Pavic).
Next up for Murray/Soares are Marin Cilic and Marcin Matkowski, who outlasted Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Demoliner 7-6(9), 1-6, 10-8. Cilic/Matkowski saved three set points in the first-set tie-break.
Frenchman Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin scored an upset over fourth seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 7-6(4), 4-6, 10-6. They’ll play Rohan Bopanna and Ivan Dodig for a place in the final.

American reached career-high of No. 56 in the Emirates ATP Rankings
Little by little, Rajeev Ram could feel the end coming. Last year the 33 year old played both singles and doubles at tournaments, but in practices, he couldn't push himself as much as he would have liked. Little injuries popped up here and there, and he had so much success in doubles with Raven Klaasen, including a run to the 2016 Nitto ATP Finals title match, that Ram started playing singles less and less.
“I had a great year last year in singles even and in doubles. But I could just feel the wear and tear starting to take its toll,” said Ram, who reached the Delray Beach Open singles final and won two doubles titles last year.
Ram wants to continue lifting trophies with Klaasen, which is why he will solely focus on doubles and retire from singles competition. The two-time Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open champion played his final singles match in Newport.
“You grow up trying to be a singles player as a first thought and that’s what I have devoted my whole career to, up until now. It’s a chapter that’s ending and I definitely feel very privileged to end it here,” Ram told ATPWorldTour.com in Newport. “I’ve actually played this tournament every year since I’ve been a pro, since 2004. I can’t say that about anywhere else. It’s special. I’ve had two singles titles here, [two] doubles titles, and a number of great wins, and to top it off with playing my last singles match.”
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Ram, who partnered with Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi to win the Newport doubles title on Saturday, would have preferred a better ending to his singles career. He fell in the first round to Aussie qualifier Matthew Ebden, who plays for his first ATP World Tour title on Sunday against John Isner.
“I wasn’t doing well, but then I just stopped and thought about it for a minute. It still didn’t go my way, but really I just enjoyed the fact that I got to play on the Stadium Court again here, in front of these fans and so many familiar faces over the years. It’s just really special,” said Ram, who had shared his retirement plans ahead of time with tournament director Todd Martin, who granted him a wild card.
Yet the final loss, Ram should leave his singles pleased with what he accomplished. He has surpassed any expectations he had for his career when he was a child. Ram didn't even take tennis seriously until he was 15.
Yet the 6'4” right-hander went onto enjoy a successful collegiate and professional career. At the University of Illinois, he was part of the 2003 national championship team and also won the 2003 NCAA doubles title.
On the ATP World Tour, he reached a career high of No. 56 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and won two ATP World Tour titles – 2009 Newport and 2015 Newport.
“Rajeev has had a great career, especially in doubles, but he's also has a very good singles career. He's won two ATP titles, not many people can say that,” Isner told ATPWorldTour.com. “He's done a lot with his game and he's got a very long doubles career to look forward to.”
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Ram was a lucky loser in 2009 before beating Sam Querrey of the U.S. In 2015, he outserved Croatian Ivo Karlovic.
“This venue is a little different than most,” Ram said. “It’s a low-bouncing grass court, which apparently was what it used to be like in the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, and I developed my game through that style; it’s how I felt the best and I felt the most comfortable playing.”
Casual tennis fans might look at Ram's age – 33 – and think about another 30-something – 35-year-old Roger Federer – and wonder if the American is leaving years on the court. But Ram has some breaking news for everyone: Federer is a unique breed.
“If we all were comparing ourselves to Roger, I think we'd all feel badly about what we did in life. He's a special case,” Ram said. “And it's not like I'm stopping completely. I feel like I have a lot of goals I want to achieve in the doubles game and a great partner at the moment. We've had a good couple years together, and I just feel like it's time to fully focus on that.”

Ram and Peya save all 10 break points faced to earn maiden title
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ram ... final-2017

Americans win in their first tournament together in more than three years

It might have been just their second tour-level event together, and their first in more than three years, but Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram did not show any rust in Moscow. Instead, the Americans defeated defending champions Max Mirnyi and Philipp Oswald 7-6(4), 6-4 on Sunday to triumph at the VTB Kremlin Cup, clinching their first title as a team.

The victory is a special one for Krajicek, who earns his maiden ATP World Tour crown. The 28-year-old had fallen short in two previous tour-level finals this year, and three overall. But he joined Ram to defeat the third seeds in 77 minutes, despite winning one less point than their opponents in the match.

While it is Krajicek’s first title, Ram now owns 16 tour-level doubles crowns, and this is his second of the season. Ram won the BMW Open by FWU in Munich. Krajicek and Ram earn 250 ATP Doubles Ranking points and split $46,420.

Mirnyi entered the match undefeated in five previous Moscow doubles finals with five different partners, including Roger Federer in 2002. Mirnyi and Oswald claimed their first trophy together at the event last season, and have won twice since, at the ATP World Tour 250-level events in New York and Houston. They earn a share of $24,400 and 150 points each.

Marcel Granollers and Rajeev Ram capped a dream debut week on Sunday, beating Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 6-4, 6-4 to win the Rolex Paris Masters.
The unseeded pairing claimed victory after 71 minutes, winning 70 per cent of its service points to lift their first doubles trophy as a team. Granollers and Ram did not drop a set en route to the title in the French capital, defeating two of the top five seeds throughout the week.
"From the first match we felt very good on the court together," said Granollers. "All the four matches we played, we played at a high level. We are very happy to end this week with the trophy."
Appearing in his third final at the event, Granollers claimed his maiden title at the final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the season. The 32-year-old Spaniard, who now owns 16 tour-level doubles crowns, finished as a runner up alongside Tommy Robredo in 2009 (l. to Nestor/Zimonjic) and with Ivan Dodig last year (l. to Kubot/Melo).
"I lost my past two finals here," said Granollers. "[It was my] lucky third. I am very happy to win this tournament."
Ram has now won three tour-level doubles titles this season, adding to victories at the BMW Open by FWU (w/Dodig) and the VTB Kremlin Cup (w/Krajicek). The 34-year-old American owns 17 tour-level doubles trophies.
"I've lost against Marcel so many times, I thought, 'Finally, it is good to have him on my side'," said Ram. "We have known each other for years. We've played against each other in singles and doubles. It was a really great chemistry. We felt comfortable right from the beginning and had some really great wins."
Rojer and Tecau were bidding capture their third tour-level title of the season. The Dutch-Romanian pairing, which lifted titles in Dubai and Winston-Salem earlier this year, was bidding to extend its six-match unbeaten streak in tour-level championship matches.
Granollers and Ram collect 1000 ATP Doubles Ranking points and share €289,670 in prize money for lifting the trophy. Rojer and Tecau gain 600 points and split €141,820.

Ram was the first ATP Tour player to enroll at IU East under the educational agreement
Most tennis players on the ATP Tour think about success in terms of match wins, titles, or meeting an ATP Ranking goal. But recently, Rajeev Ram accomplished something that has been more than 15 years in the making, receiving his college degree from Indiana University East, a partner of the ATP Tour in supporting Tour members in their pursuit of higher education opportunities.

“It was always something I knew I wanted to do. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it. I actually explored a couple of options like community college. I knew I wanted to do it online obviously because while I’m playing I had no chance to actually be a regular student,” Ram said. “It just seemed like it was always the right fit, the perfect timing and everything, so I took advantage of it.”

Ram attended the University of Illinois for one semester in 2003, winning the NCAA Doubles National Championship with Brian Wilson. He then left school to embark on his career as a professional tennis player, but never left the hopes of earning a degree behind.

“It’s a big deal in our family. It was actually a big deal for me to leave school early to start with to pursue professional tennis. It’s always been a thing that my parents made pretty clear, that [getting a degree] would be something beneficial for me to have,” Ram said. “So I think it’s always been in the back of my head, not knowing how I was actually going to go about it. I wasn’t sure about that and when the ATP came up with this program with IU East, it seemed like a pretty good fit.”

Ram was the first ATP Tour player to enroll at Indiana University East under the educational agreement, which provides several options for players to complete their degree online. Ram, who has won 17 tour-level doubles titles and lifted two singles trophies, earned a General Studies Degree with a concentration in humanities and behavioral science.

“I enjoyed some of the psychology classes because obviously with tennis there’s a big psychological component and I think learning even a very basic level of psychology was pretty interesting because I could relate to it via what I do on the court.”

For some, school may seem like a burden with all the work that comes with it. It may appear especially difficult for a player on the ATP Tour to handle. But Ram, who began at Indiana University East in fall 2015, enjoyed the experience.

“I didn’t mind it at all. It was kind of a nice way to focus on something else. A lot of times with tennis we get so revved up in these types of things: matches, training and traveling. It was a really nice way to put my brain to work in another arena and I did some of my best schoolwork on long plane flights,” Ram said. “I had nothing else to distract me, I’d download a couple of assignments and on an international flight, it was quite conducive to that.

“I think it was a great distraction, almost. It was something I could concentrate on that was not tennis, especially if for some reason if I had a tough match or a tough week or a tough stretch, it was something outside of that to focus on and to immerse myself in, if you will. But I just feel like I was able to do it at my pace and I was able to do it pretty much how I wanted, which made it nice.”

Ram had especially high praise for the staff at Indiana University East and its work to make the process seamless for him.

“They really understood and appreciated the fact that I was a tennis player, I travel a lot and I’m still attempting to do this. They worked with me, especially my scheduling advisor,” Ram said. “It was nice to have that guidance to make it not be an incredible burden. I never thought about it being too much or that I didn’t want to do it anymore. I did it at my own pace and it was never something I felt so much pressure about.”

And now, more than 15 years after leaving Illinois, Ram has accomplished a longtime goal.

“It’s nice. It’s definitely rewarding and there’s definitely a sense of accomplishment with it, too,” Ram said. “It’s just a sense of closure, almost. I started college, I left early and it was always there in the back of my mind, maybe even moreso if I had not gone to college at all in the first place.”

Did You Know?
- In conjunction with Indiana University East, scholarships are available to ATP members who meet the criteria for admission and enroll in a degree program at the University. Indiana University East’s online degree completion programs offer the flexibility to fit studying around a tournament schedule.

Haase/Koolhof prevail on Friday
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury continued their top form on Friday at the Coupe Rogers, prevailing in a tight 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-7 encounter with Roland Garros finalists Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin to reach the semi-finals in Montreal. For the first time since 1969, all four semi-final teams at this event are unseeded.

Ram/Salisbury won 83 per cent of their first-serve points en route to advancing in one hour and 49 minutes. They’ll play Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos for a place in Sunday’s final.

Robin Haase and Wesley Koolhof continued their dream run by advancing in a wild 6-7(8), 7-6(5), 10-5 clash with seventh seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. A victory would have given the Bryan brothers 1,100 tour-level doubles wins. Bob achieved that feat individually after their second-round match on Thursday, joining Mike as the only players to reach that milestone in doubles.

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Haase/Koolhof couldn’t take advantage of three set points in the first-set tie-break, but regrouped strongly by taking the last five points of the Match Tie-break. The Dutch pair upset top seeds and reigning Wimbledon champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the opening round.

Next up for Haase/Koolhof are Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov, who received a walkover against Benoit Paire and Stan Wawrinka.

Dodig/Polasek advance in Basel on Friday
Fourth seeds Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury continued their winning ways on Friday at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, edging Marcus Daniell/Philipp Oswald 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 to reach the final.

Ram/Salisbury also moved closer to making their debut appearance as a team at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, held from 10-17 November at The O2 in London. Their semi-final win pushed them into sixth place in the ATP Doubles Race To London with 3,290 points. Ram/Salisbury will pick up an additional 200 points if they can take the title in Vienna.

The American/British pair look to improve its 1-3 record in ATP Tour doubles finals this year, having prevailed in Dubai and finished runner-up in Brisbane, Queen’s Club and Antwerp. They await the winner of top seeds Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo and third seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut.

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At the Swiss Indoors Basel, Ivan Dodig/Filip Polasek upset second seeds Raven Klaasen/Michael Venus 7-6(8), 6-4 to move into the semi-finals. They saved set points at 5/6 and 7/8 in the first-set tie-break en route to advancing in one hour and 30 minutes.

Dodig/Polasek, who are in ninth place in the ATP Doubles Race To London, will face fourth seeds Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau on Saturday. Rojer/Tecau are in seventh place in the Race.