Israel's Elrich, Ram win first Grand Slam doubles crown
MELBOURNE (AFP) — Jonathan Elrich and Andy Ram won Israel's first Grand Slam doubles tennis title with victory over Wimbledon champions Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra at the Australian Open on Saturday.
The eighth seeds downed the seventh-seeded French combination, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) in the final.
It was Elrich and Ram's first Grand Slam final in their 20th major together, going one better than their semi-final finish at Wimbledon in 2003.
"We're so happy to be the first Israeli team to make history today and we believed we could win the Grand Slam title," Ram said.
"We believe we're one of the best teams in the world, it's a great day for us, our family and for Israel, for everybody."
They were the first Israeli pair to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open Era (post-1968), with Shlomo Glickstein and partner Hans Simonssen losing in the doubles final at the 1985 French Open.
It was Elrich and Ram's 11 career titles together and they are unbeaten in Davis Cup doubles since March 2005.
Shahar Peer also created tennis history when she became the first Israeli to reach a Grand Slam final in the women's doubles on Friday.
Peer and Belarussian Victoria Azarenka eventually lost to Ukrainian sisters Kateryna and Alona Bondarenko.
Clement and Llodra were favourites are beating the top-ranked American pair Bob and Mike Bryan at last year's Wimbledon.
Llodra teamed with compatriot Fabrice Santoro to win the Australian Open doubles in 2003 and 2004.
