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Aug. 16, 2013
Exciting play at recent VanOpen
Toronto’s Sharon Fichman raises her singles ranking, and Israeli duo bring home a win.
MARVIN GLASSMAN
Both Sharon Fichman of Toronto, with Maryna Zanevska of Ukraine, and the Israeli duo of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram were impressive in winning the doubles titles at the $200,000 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open held recently at the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver.
Fichman also finished as a finalist in the women’s singles competition. Her stoic run in Vancouver raised her singles ranking to 104 – the highest ranking ever in the career of the 22-year-old, who is now Canada’s second-highest-ranked player. Fichman is the highest-ranking Jewish female player in the world.
What was especially dramatic about Fichman’s efforts is that she was forced to play (and win) two singles matches and the doubles final in one day, following a day of rain. On the final Sunday, fatigue may have been a factor in Fichman’s loss 6-4, 6-2, to Johanna Konta of Great Britain.
“I may have been tired and could have played better, but I am happy winning the doubles and raising my singles ranking to a career high,” said a jubilant Fichman to the many local fans that cheered on her efforts.
In winning the doubles title with Zanevska, the duo first defeated Canadian Heidi El Tabakh and Sherazad Benamar of France 6-0, 6-4, then Australia’s Monique Adamczak and Misa Eguchi of Japan 6-3, 6-3, and sisters Shu-Ying and Su-Wei Hsieh of Taipei 7-5, 6-2, before winning the championship match 6-2, 6-2, over Americans Jacqueline Cako and Natalie Pluskota.
En route to finishing as a singles finalist, Fichman defeated Adamczak 6-0, 6-1; Miharu Imanishi of Japan 6-2, 6-2; Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan 7-5, 6-3; and Strycova Zahlavova of Czech Republic 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Born and raised in Toronto, Fichman’s parents are from Romania and lived in Israel for three years before immigrating to Canada in 1988. Fichman won the Orange Bowl Junior International Tennis Championships at age 12 and was a finalist by age 14. Turning pro in 2009, Fichman has won three International Tennis Federation junior titles and is the first Jewish player to play for Canada on the national Fed Cup team since Vicki Berner of Vancover in the late 1960s. Fichman has a winning record of 22-7 in Fed Cup matches since beginning play in 2005 and is one of only six Canadian players ever to win 21 Fed Cup matches.
“I feel that I am playing my best tennis in my life, and am so happy that I competed this week in Vancouver,” Fichman said.
Erlich and Ram, who also play for Israel’s Davis Cup team, showcased their talent by defeating four teams to win the doubles final. They beat Australians Chris Guccione and Matt Reid 7-5, 6-1; split sets with Americans Austin Krajicek and Bobby Reynolds 7(5)-6 and 3-6, before winning the tie break 10-5 to advance to the semi-final round. In the semi-finals, they again split sets; this time, 6-3 and 3-6 with American Bradley Klahn and New Zealander Michael Venus, before winning the tie break 10-6 to advance. In the championship match, Erlich and Ram defeated American James Cerretani and Canadian Adil Shamasdin 6-1, 6-4, to win the doubles title.
“It has been a few years since Andy and I won a title, and it feels wonderful to do so in front of so many supportive fans,” said Erlich following the final match.
“We[’ve] always loved playing together and I hope that Jonathan and I continue to gel as a team and continue to do well in tennis,” added Ram.
Erlich (ranked 64) and Ram (ranked 124) have been playing as a team since 2001, winning 19 doubles titles together over the years, among them the Australian Open doubles in 2008. In 2008, Erlich and Ram were ranked fifth in the world, the highest ranking ever for any Israeli in tennis.
Perhaps Erlich and Ram’s most memorable match occurred in Davis Cup play in 2009, when the duo, in front of 10,500 boisterous fans in Tel Aviv, defeated the much-vaunted Russian team in five sets for a sweep of matches to advance Israel to its first-ever Davis Cup semi-final berth.
“I will never forget that moment as long as I live. The Russians touted us as being lucky to even have an opportunity of playing them in [the] Davis Cup. The crowd cheered us from the first point onward, and I never felt more proud to wear the Israeli flag on our uniforms,” said Erlich.
Born in Uruguay, the 33-year-old Ram’s family immigrated to Israel when he was a child, and he began playing tennis by age 5. Once he was identified as an elite athlete, he was trained to be tournament tough and honed his skills at the Israel Tennis Centres in Jerusalem.
Erlich, born in Argentina, also came to Israel with his family at a very young age and was playing in tennis tournaments by age 8. Like Ram, Erlich was identified at a young age as an elite athlete and developed his game at the Israel Tennis Centres.
The duo met in 2000 and started to play together within 10 months.
“In tennis, you have to gel as a team by practising, talking and respecting each other’s needs. Jonathan and I are very close. He was [the] best man at my wedding and the closer we are, the better that we play,” said Ram.
The only time that the duo did not play together was when Erlich had a shoulder injury (2008-9) and Ram had a wrist injury earlier this year.
“We are far away from where we want to be, but winning the VanOpen is an important step for us to resume playing at a very high level again,” said Erlich.
Four other Jewish players competed at the VanOpen tournament this year: American Wayne Odesnik finished in the quarter-finals in men’s singles, Israeli Amir Weintraub lost in the second round of men’s singles, Israeli Julia Glushko finished in the second round in women’s singles, and Israeli Keren Shlomo lost in the second round of women’s qualifying round. The four players also played in doubles matches, but failed to advance beyond the opening round. To read more about the tournament, visit vanopen.com.
Marvin Glassman is a Toronto freelance writer.
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