Rajeev Ram
Quick Facts
Biography
Rajeev Ram (born March 18, 1984) is an American professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. He won the Mixed Doubles silver medal with Venus Williams at the Rio Olympics 2016 and reached the final of the US Open with Coco Vandeweghe in the same year. He has advanced as far as the semifinals in men's doubles at the US Open and at Wimbledon and has made the quarterfinals of the other two slams. Ram has also won two ATP singles titles at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in 2009 and again in 2015.
Ram has claimed twelve ATP doubles titles in his career, with several different partners. His career-high singles ranking is world no. 56, achieved in April 2016. He reached as high as world no. 11 in doubles in March 2017 by winning his first Masters 1000 tournament.
Personal
Ram was born to Raghav and Sushma Ram. His parents hail from Bangalore, India. Table tennis, cricket, and music are some of his interests.
Career
Early career
In his junior career, Ram won a total of nine national junior titles, including singles and doubles. Amongst his titles were the National Claycourt 14-and-under singles title, the boys 16 and under national championship, the 18 and under Easter Bowl title, Kalamazoo doubles and the Target Cup tournaments. In addition to his nine junior titles, Ram played high school tennis at Carmel High School, earned All-State honors, became the state singles champion, and earned a scholarship in both 1998 and 1999.
Rajeev earned a wild card entry into the Juniors' 2001 US Open. Ram participated in all of the Grand Slam junior tournaments [1]. He was the runner-up in juniors doubles at the 2002 Wimbledon, partnered with Brian Baker.
Ram then delayed enrollment at the University of Illinois until January 2003 so that he could continue to play tennis as an amateur on the pro circuit. During his one semester at Illinois, he won the national doubles title with Brian Wilson and helped the Fighting Illini go undefeated (32–0) and win the 2003 NCAA team championship.
Professional years
At the 2005 US Open, he lost in five sets to Stanislas Wawrinka. At the 2006 US Open, he lost in the second qualifying round to former college teammate Amer Delić. Rajeev made the 2007 Wimbledon doubles quarterfinals as a qualifier with Harel Levy, before losing to eventual champions Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra. Along the way, Ram and Levy upset the 15th seeded team of Martín García and Sebastián Prieto. In 2007, he won five doubles Challenger titles partnering Bobby Reynolds, and reached three other finals on his way to a career-high doubles ranking of no. 62.
On July 5, 2008, Ram won the Nielsen USTA Pro Tennis Championship in Winnetka, Illinois for his first career Challenger-level singles title.
He won his first ATP doubles title in Chennai, India 2009 with compatriot Eric Butorac.
On July 10, 2009, Ram accomplished the unusual feat of winning four professional-level tennis matches in one day. At the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Rhode Island, the tournament had been rained out early in the week, pushing back many scheduled matches. On July 10, Ram advanced to the singles semifinals with wins over Samuel Groth and Jesse Levine and then partnered with Jordan Kerr to advance to the doubles semifinals with wins over Arnaud Clément/Olivier Rochus and Nicolas Mahut/Fabrice Santoro. Mahut, Santoro, and Rochus each played three matches that day, though none of them won all their matches. Ram then went on to beat Rochus and world no. 39 Sam Querrey on consecutive days to capture his first ATP title. He also captured the doubles title.
In his return to Newport in July 2010, Ram lost to no. 417-ranked qualifier Raven Klaasen after defeating Iván Navarro in the first round. Having raced to a 5–0 lead in the third set, Ram wasted several match points while serving at 5–1 before eventually losing, 7–5, 1–6, 6–7.
In Atlanta in July 2010, he won his first doubles title with American Scott Lipsky, defeating Rohan Bopanna and Kristof Vliegen for the outdoor hard court Atlanta Tennis Championships. In the semifinals, Lipsky and Ram had defeated John Isner and James Blake. In November, they won a tournament in Eckental, Germany.
Ram started 2011 strong, partnering with Lipsky in February to take the indoor hard court San Jose Open (over Christopher Kas from Germany and Alexander Peya from Austria) and the outdoor hard court Delray Beach titles (over Alejandro Falla from Colombia and Xavier Malisse from Belgium). In March, he and Lipsky won the Challenger of Dallas. In June, he and Lipsky advanced as far as the quarterfinals at the 2011 French Open, before being defeated.
2013
In 2013, he teamed with Rohan Bopanna. In Chennai, they reached the quarterfinals, only to fall to Benoît Paire and Stanislas Wawrinka.
At the Australian Open, they reached the second round, but lost to the Italian team of Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.
In Dubai, they reached the semifinals, where they lost to Mahesh Bhupathi and Michaël Llodra.
2015
In 2015 at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships he reached his second career final and won his second career ATP singles title by defeating Ivo Karlovic.
2016
In 2016 at the Delray Beach Open he reached his third career final losing to Sam Querrey. At the Olympic Games he won silver with Venus Williams following a loss to their compatriots Jack Sock and Bethanie Mattek-Sands in mixed doubles.
Significant finals
Grand Slam finals
Mixed Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 2016 | US Open | Hard | Coco Vandeweghe | Laura Siegemund Mate Pavić | 4–6, 4–6 |
Year-End Championships
Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 2016 | ATP World Tour Finals, London | Hard (i) | Raven Klaasen | Henri Kontinen John Peers | 6–2, 1–6, [8–10] |
Masters 1000 finals
Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 2016 | Miami | Hard | Raven Klaasen | Pierre-Hugues Herbert Nicolas Mahut | 7–5, 1–6, [7–10] |
Winner | 2017 | Indian Wells | Hard | Raven Klaasen | Łukasz Kubot Marcelo Melo | 6–7(1–7), 6–4, [10–8] |
Olympic medal matches
Mixed Doubles: 1 (1 silver medal)
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Silver | 2016 | Summer Olympics | Hard | Venus Williams | Bethanie Mattek-Sands Jack Sock | 7–6(7–3), 1–6, [7–10] |
ATP career finals
Singles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
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Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Win | 1–0 | 000000002009-07-01-0000Jul 2009 | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States | 250 Series | Grass | Sam Querrey | 6–7(3–7), 7–5, 6–3 |
Win | 2–0 | 000000002015-07-01-0000Jul 2015 | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States (2) | 250 Series | Grass | Ivo Karlović | 7–6(7–5), 5–7, 7–6(7–2) |
Loss | 2–1 | 000000002016-02-01-0000Feb 2016 | Delray Beach Open, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Sam Querrey | 4–6, 6–7(6–8) |
Doubles: 21 (13 titles, 9 runners-up)
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Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
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Loss | 0–1 | 000000002005-08-01-0000Aug 2005 | New Haven Open, United States | Intl Series | Hard | Bobby Reynolds | Gastón Etlis Martín Rodríguez | 4–6, 3–6 |
Win | 1–1 | 000000002009-01-01-0000Jan 2009 | Chennai Open, India | 250 Series | Hard | Eric Butorac | Jean-Claude Scherrer Stan Wawrinka | 6–3, 6–4 |
Win | 2–1 | 000000002009-07-01-0000Jul 2009 | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States | 250 Series | Grass | Jordan Kerr | Michael Kohlmann Rogier Wassen | 6–7(6–8), 7–6(9–7), [10–6] |
Win | 3–1 | 000000002009-10-01-0000Oct 2009 | Thailand Open, Thailand | 250 Series | Hard (i) | Eric Butorac | Guillermo García López Mischa Zverev | 7–6(7–4), 6–3 |
Win | 4–1 | 000000002010-07-01-0000Jul 2010 | Atlanta Open, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Scott Lipsky | Rohan Bopanna Kristof Vliegen | 6–3, 6–7(4–7), [12–10] |
Loss | 4–2 | 000000002011-02-01-0000Feb 2011 | SA Tennis Open, South Africa | 250 Series | Hard | Scott Lipsky | James Cerretani Adil Shamasdin | 3–6, 6–3, [7–10] |
Win | 5–2 | 000000002011-02-01-0000Feb 2011 | Pacific Coast Championships, United States | 250 Series | Hard (i) | Scott Lipsky | Alejandro Falla Xavier Malisse | 6–4, 4–6, [10–8] |
Win | 6–2 | 000000002011-02-01-0000Feb 2011 | Delray Beach Open, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Scott Lipsky | Christopher Kas Alexander Peya | 4–6, 6–4, [10–3] |
Win | 7–2 | 000000002012-09-01-0000Sep 2012 | St. Petersburg Open, Russia | 250 Series | Hard (i) | Nenad Zimonjić | Lukáš Lacko Igor Zelenay | 6–2, 4–6, [10–6] |
Loss | 7–3 | 000000002014-07-01-0000Jul 2014 | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States | 250 Series | Grass | Jonathan Erlich | Chris Guccione Lleyton Hewitt | 5–7, 4–6 |
Win | 8–3 | 000000002015-06-01-0000Jun 2015 | Halle Open, Germany | 500 Series | Grass | Raven Klaasen | Rohan Bopanna Florin Mergea | 7–6(7–5), 6–2 |
Loss | 8–4 | 000000002015-10-01-0000Oct 2015 | Malaysian Open, Malaysia | 250 Series | Hard (i) | Raven Klaasen | Treat Huey Henri Kontinen | 6–7(4–7), 2–6 |
Loss | 8–5 | 000000002016-04-01-0000Apr 2016 | Miami Open, United States | Masters 1000 | Hard | Raven Klaasen | Pierre-Hugues Herbert Nicolas Mahut | 7–5, 1–6, [7–10] |
Loss | 8–6 | 000000002016-05-01-0000May 2016 | Geneva Open, Switzerland | 250 Series | Clay | Raven Klaasen | Steve Johnson Sam Querrey | 4–6, 1–6 |
Win | 9–6 | 000000002016-06-01-0000Jun 2016 | Halle Open, Germany (2) | 500 Series | Grass | Raven Klaasen | Łukasz Kubot Alexander Peya | 7–6(7–5), 6–2 |
Win | 10–6 | 000000002016-10-01-0000Oct 2016 | Chengdu Open, China | 250 Series | Hard | Raven Klaasen | Pablo Carreño Busta Mariusz Fyrstenberg | 7−6(7–2), 7−5 |
Loss | 10–7 | 000000002016-10-01-0000Oct 2016 | Japan Open, Japan | 500 Series | Hard | Raven Klaasen | Marcel Granollers Marcin Matkowski | 2–6, 6–7(4–7) |
Loss | 10–8 | 000000002016-11-01-0000Nov 2016 | ATP World Tour Finals, United Kingdom | Tour Finals | Hard (i) | Raven Klaasen | Henri Kontinen John Peers | 6–2, 1–6, [8–10] |
Win | 11–8 | 000000002017-02-01-0000Feb 2017 | Delray Beach Open, United States (2) | 250 Series | Hard | Raven Klaasen | Treat Huey Max Mirnyi | 7–5, 7–5 |
Win | 12–8 | 000000002017-03-01-0000Mar 2017 | Indian Wells Masters, United States | Masters 1000 | Hard | Raven Klaasen | Łukasz Kubot Marcelo Melo | 6–7(1–7), 6–4, [10–8] |
Loss | 12–9 | 000000002017-06-01-0000Jun 2017 | Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, Netherlands | 250 Series | Grass | Raven Klaasen | Łukasz Kubot Marcelo Melo | 3–6, 4–6 |
Win | 13–9 | 000000002017-07-01-0000Jul 2017 | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States | 250 Series | Grass | Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi | Matt Reid John-Patrick Smith | 6–4, 4–6, [10–7] |
Timeline in singles and doubles
Singles performance timeline
Tournament | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | W–L | |
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Australian Open | A | A | A | Q1 | 1R | Q1 | 1R | Q1 | Q1 | 2R | Q2 | Q1 | 2R | Q3 | 2–4 | |
French Open | A | A | A | Q2 | A | Q2 | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 0–2 | ||
Wimbledon | A | A | A | Q1 | Q1 | 1R | 1R | Q1 | Q3 | 2R | Q3 | A | 1R | 1–4 | ||
US Open | 1R | 1R | A | Q1 | Q1 | 1R | Q1 | Q3 | 1R | 2R | Q3 | 2R | 1R | 2–7 | ||
Win–Loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0-0 | 5–17 | |
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||
Titles–Finals | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0-0 | 2–3 | |
Year-End Ranking | 297 | 195 | 197 | 253 | 190 | 79 | 184 | 149 | 132 | 127 | 139 | 89 | 129 |
Doubles performance timeline
Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | W–L | ||
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Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 3R | 3R | QF | 1R | QF | 2R | 2R | 1R | QF | 2R | 16–11 | ||
French Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | 1R | 1R | QF | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 8-9 | |||
Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | QF | 1R | 1R | 2R | SF | 13-10 | |||
US Open | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | SF | 3R | 2R | 14–16 | |||
Win–Loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 6–4 | 3–4 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 9–4 | 3–4 | 5–4 | 3–4 | 9–4 | 1-1 | 45–43 | ||
Olympic Games | Not Held | A | Not Held | A | Not Held | A | Not Held | 2R | NH | 1-1 | ||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
Titles–Finals | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–6 | 2-2 | 12–20 | ||
Year-End Ranking | 1099 | 541 | 448 | 133 | 113 | 122 | 65 | 68 | 39 | 67 | 45 | 44 | 78 | 53 | 36 | 14 |