(JTA) — The Israeli Olympic tennis duo of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram upset the 2008 gold medalists in men’s doubles, Roger Federer and Stanislaw Wawrinca of Switzerland.
The Israelis beat the Swiss pair, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the second round on Wednesday and advance to the quarterfinals to play the top-seeded duo, brothers Mike and Bob Bryan of the United States.
Along with Israel, the Erlich-Ram victory brought grins to Jewish communities to Argentina and neighboring Uruguay. Erlich was born in Buenos Aires and made aliyah with his family when he was a year old. Ram is a native of Montevideo, Uruguay. His father is the Israeli Betar Jerusalem soccer player Amiram Ram; his mother is Uruguayan.
Erlich and Ram have been representing Israel for more than a decade. Their greatest victory came in 2008, when they won the Australian Open. They also own Davis Cup wins in 2009 over Russia, in 2007 over Luxembourg and Italy, and in 2006 over Great Britain.
