Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich is a professional Israeli tennis player. He plays doubles, primarily.
He won the men's doubles title at the 2008 Australian Open with Andy Ram.
He attained his highest doubles ranking of World No. 5 in July 2008. Erlich has reached 39 doubles finals and won 20 of them, mostly with partner Andy Ram; together, they are known in Israel as "Andyoni". His Davis Cup doubles record, as of 2018, was 22–12.
Background
Jonathan Erlich, who is Jewish, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He moved to Haifa, Israel, when he was a one-year-old, and now resides in Tel Aviv and competes as an Israeli.Erlich first started playing tennis when he was three years old, and he played his first tournament at the age of seven. He was later trained at the Wingate Institute, where he met Andy Ram, his future doubles partner. He turned pro in 1996 at the age of 19.
Erlich is known as a fan of the football team Maccabi Haifa.
Tennis career
1996–2005
Erlich and Ram first competed at Queen's Club in June 2001. In 2002, in singles Erlich defeated world # 64 ranked Adrian Voinea of Romania, 6–2, 6–3, in Indianapolis.The Israeli duo's best achievement was reaching the semifinal of the Wimbledon championships in 2003. They defeated Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor but lost the semifinal to defending Wimbledon champions Jonas Björkman and Todd Woodbridge. They were the first Israelis to advance to the semifinals in a Grand Slam event.
They won the Thailand Open in September 2003 and the Grand Prix de Lyon in October 2003, defeating Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut 6–1, 6–3 in the final.
Erlich advanced with Liezel Huber of South Africa to the semifinals in the mixed doubles tournament in 2004 at the Australian Open. They were defeated by Leander Paes and Martina Navratilova in the semifinals.
Ram and Erlich won the Lyon tournament again in October 2004. They defeated Jonas Björkman and Radek Štěpánek 7–6, 6–2 in the final. Erlich and Ram's next major tournament win was in Rotterdam in February 2005. They beat Czechs Cyril Suk and Pavel Vízner 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 in the finals. Ram and Erlich missed the French Open in 2005 due to the death of Ram's father shortly before the tournament was due to start. They reached 8th place in the doubles ranking at the end of 2005, and served as alternates at the Masters Cup in Shanghai.
2006–present
Erlich and Ram claimed the Adelaide title in March 2006, defeating Russian finalists Dmitry Tursunov and Igor Kunitsyn 6–3, 6–2.At Cincinnati, at the ATP Masters, in August he and Ram won, upsetting the world # 1 Bryan brothers in the final 4–6, 6–3, 13–11. In November, they again defeated the world # 1 ranked Bryan brothers at the Tennis Masters Cup in China, 7–6, 2–6, 6–1. At the US Open, he played doubles with Ram, losing to the eventual winners Simon Aspelin and Julian Simon, 5–7, 6–7. The team won their first Grand Slam by winning the 2008 Australian Open final against Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra 7–5, 7–6.
From September 2008 till May 2009 Erlich was recovering from right elbow surgery, and suffered setback after setback, while Ram was playing doubles with other partners. The Israel Open ATP Challenger tournament in May 2009 was the first where the two reunited. Erlich and Ram proceeded to the tournament's final, where they lost to George Bastl and Chris Guccione 6–3, 7–63. After the tournament Ram announced that he was going to finish the season with his temporary partner Max Mirnyi, before returning to play with Erlich on a permanent basis. Later the same month, Erlich partnering Harel Levy won his first ATP tournament after returning to play, the Türk Telecom İzmir Cup.
Davis Cup
Playing for the Israel Davis Cup team in 2000 and from 2002–09, he has won 12 of his 16 matches, including wins in Israel's 2006 win over Great Britain, 2007 win over Luxembourg, 2007 wins over Italy and Chile, and 2009 win over Russia.Israel hosted heavily favored Russia in a Davis Cup quarterfinal tie in July 2009, on indoor hard courts at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv. Israel was represented by Erlich, Ram, Dudi Sela, and Harel Levy. Russia's lineup consisted of Marat Safin, Igor Andreev, Igor Kunitsyn, and Mikhail Youzhny. The stage was set by Safin, who prior to the tie told the press: "With all due respect, Israel was lucky to get to the quarterfinals." The Israeli team's response was to beat the Russian team in each of their first three matches, thereby winning the tie. Levy, world # 210, beat Russia's top player, Andreev, world # 24, 6–4, 6–2, 4–6, 6–2 in the opening match. Sela followed by beating Russian Youzhny 3–6, 6–1, 6–0, 7–5. Israeli captain Eyal Ran likened his players to two fighter jets on court, saying: "I felt as if I had two F-16s out there today, they played amazingly well." The match was attended by 10,500 people, the largest ever crowd ever for a tennis match held in Israel. The next day Erlich and Ram beat Safin and Kunitsyn 6–3, 6–4, 6–7, 4–6, 6–4 in front of a boisterous crowd of over 10,000. "This is something I will cherish for all of my life," said Erlich. He added, "Everybody has dreams, but there are some you don’t allow yourself to have, and beating Russia 3–0 was just like that.. but we have done it." Even the Saudi Gazette described the doubles match as a "thrilling" win. Ran was carried shoulder-high around the Tel Aviv stadium, as the 10,000-strong crowd applauded. With the tie clinched for Israel, the reverse singles rubbers were "dead", and instead of best-of-five matches, best-of-three sets were played, with the outcomes of little to no importance. Israel wrapped up a 4–1 victory over Russia, as Levy defeated Kunitsyn 6–4, 4–6, 7–6, while Sela retired with a wrist injury while down 3–4 in the first set against Andreev.
Olympics
Erlich and Ram represented Israel at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and reached the quarterfinals. They also represented Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.Major finals
Doubles: 1 (1 title)
ATP career finals
Doubles: 42 (21 titles, 21 runners-up)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | 2000 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Doubles| | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States | International | Grass |  Harel Levy |  Kyle Spencer Mitch Sprengelmeyer | 7–6, 7–5 |
| Win | 2–0 | 2003 Thailand Open – Doubles| | Thailand Open, Thailand | International | Hard | Andy Ram |  Andrew Kratzmann Jarkko Nieminen | 6–3, 7–6 |
| Win | 3–0 | 2003 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Doubles| | Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, France | International | Carpet | Andy Ram |  Julien Benneteau Nicolas Mahut | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Loss | 3–1 | 2004 Chennai Open – Doubles| | Chennai Open, India | International | Hard | Andy Ram |  Rafael Nadal Tommy Robredo | 6–7, 6–4, 3–6 |
| Loss | 3–2 | 2004 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament – Doubles| | Rotterdam Open, Netherlands | Intl. Gold | Hard | Andy Ram | Paul Hanley Radek Štěpánek | 7–5, 6–7, 5–7 |
| Win | 4–2 | 2004 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Doubles| | Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, France | International | Carpet | Andy Ram |  Jonas Björkman Radek Štěpánek | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 5–2 | 2005 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament – Doubles| | Rotterdam Open, Netherlands | Intl. Gold | Hard | Andy Ram | Cyril Suk Pavel Vízner | 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 6–2 | 2005 Nottingham Open – Doubles| | Nottingham Open, United Kingdom | International | Grass | Andy Ram | Simon Aspelin Todd Perry | 4–6, 6–3, 7–5 |
| Loss | 6–3 | 2005 Mercedes-Benz Cup – Doubles| | Los Angeles Open, United States | International | Hard | Andy Ram | Rick Leach Brian MacPhie | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 6–4 | 2005 Rogers Masters – Doubles| | Canadian Open, Canada | Masters Series | Hard | Andy Ram |  Wayne Black Kevin Ullyett | 7–6, 3–6, 0–6 |
| Loss | 6–5 | 2005 Thailand Open – Doubles| | Thailand Open, Thailand | International | Hard | Andy Ram | Paul Hanley Leander Paes | 6–5, 1–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 6–6 | 2005 BA-CA-TennisTrophy – Doubles| | Vienna Open, Austria | Intl. Gold | Hard | Andy Ram |  Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor | 3–5, 4–5 |
| Win | 7–6 | 2006 Next Generation Adelaide International – Doubles| | Adelaide International, Australia | International | Hard | Andy Ram | Paul Hanley Kevin Ullyett | 7–6, 7–6 |
| Loss | 7–7 | 2006 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament – Doubles| | Rotterdam Open, Netherlands | Intl. Gold | Hard | Andy Ram | Paul Hanley Kevin Ullyett | 6–7, 6–7 |
| Loss | 7–8 | 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia – Men's Doubles| | Italian Open, Italy | Masters Series | Clay | Andy Ram | Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor | 4–6, 7–5, |
| Win | 8–8 | 2006 Nottingham Open – Doubles| | Nottingham Open, UK | International | Grass | Andy Ram |  Igor Kunitsyn Dmitry Tursunov | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 9–8 | 2006 Pilot Pen Tennis – Men's Doubles| | Connecticut Open, United States | International | Hard | Andy Ram |  Mariusz Fyrstenberg Marcin Matkowski | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 10–8 | 2006 Thailand Open – Doubles| | Thailand Open, Thailand | International | Hard | Andy Ram | Andy Murray Jamie Murray | 6–2, 2–6, |
| Loss | 10–9 | 2007 Tennis Channel Open – Doubles| | Las Vegas Open, United States | International | Hard | Andy Ram | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 6–7, 2–6 |
| Loss | 10–10 | 2007 Pacific Life Open – Men's Doubles| | Indian Wells Masters, United States | Masters Series | Hard | Andy Ram | Martin Damm Leander Paes | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 10–11 | 2007 Legg Mason Tennis Classic – Doubles| | Washington Open, United States | International | Hard | Andy Ram | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 6–7, 6–3, |
| Win | 11–11 | 2007 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters – Doubles| | Cincinnati Masters, United States | Masters Series | Hard | Andy Ram | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 4–6, 6–3, |
| Win | 12–11 | 2008 Australian Open – Men's Doubles| | Australian Open, Australia | Grand Slam | Hard | Andy Ram | Arnaud Clément Michaël Llodra | 7–5, 7–6 |
| Win | 13–11 | 2008 Pacific Life Open – Men's Doubles| | Indian Wells Masters, United States | Masters Series | Hard | Andy Ram | Daniel Nestor Nenad Zimonjić | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 13–12 | 2008 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters – Doubles| | Cincinnati Masters, United States | Masters Series | Hard | Andy Ram | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 6–4, 6–7, |
| Win | 14–12 | 2010 Aegon Championships – Doubles| | Queen's Club Championships, United Kingdom | 250 Series | Grass | Novak Djokovic |  Karol Beck David Škoch | 7–6, 2–6, |
| Loss | 14–13 | 2010 PTT Thailand Open – Doubles| | Thailand Open, Thailand | 250 Series | Hard |  Jürgen Melzer |  Christopher Kas Viktor Troicki | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 15–13 | 2011 Aegon International – Men's Doubles| | Eastbourne International, United Kingdom | 250 Series | Grass | Andy Ram |  Grigor Dimitrov Andreas Seppi | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 16–13 | 2011 Winston-Salem Open – Doubles| | Winston-Salem Open, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Andy Ram | Christopher Kas Alexander Peya | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 16–14 | 2012 Aircel Chennai Open – Doubles| | Chennai Open, India | 250 Series | Hard | Andy Ram | Leander Paes Janko Tipsarević | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 17–14 | 2012 Serbia Open – Doubles| | Serbia Open, Serbia | 250 Series | Clay | Andy Ram | Martin Emmrich Andreas Siljeström | 4–6, 6–2, |
| Loss | 17–15 | 2013 Gerry Weber Open – Doubles| | Halle Open, Germany | 250 Series | Grass | Daniele Bracciali |  Santiago González Scott Lipsky | 2–6, 6–7 |
| Loss | 17–16 | 2014 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Doubles| | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States | 250 Series | Grass | Rajeev Ram | Chris Guccione Lleyton Hewitt | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 18–16 | 2015 ATP Shenzhen Open – Doubles| | Shenzhen Open, China | 250 Series | Hard | Colin Fleming | Chris Guccione André Sá | 6–1, 6–7, |
| Loss | 18–17 | 2016 Open 13 – Doubles| | Open 13, France | 250 Series | Hard | Colin Fleming |  Mate Pavić Michael Venus | 2–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 18–18 | 2016 Los Cabos Open – Doubles| | Los Cabos Open, Mexico | 250 Series | Hard | Ken Skupski | Purav Raja Divij Sharan | 6–7, 6–7 |
| Loss | 18–19 | 2017 ASB Classic – Men's Doubles| | Auckland Open, New Zealand | 250 Series | Hard | Scott Lipsky | Marcin Matkowski Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi | 6–1, 2–6, |
| Win | 19–19 | 2017 Chengdu Open – Doubles| | Chengdu Open, China | 250 Series | Hard | Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi | Marcus Daniell Marcelo Demoliner | 6–3, 7–6 |
| Win | 20–19 | 2018 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Doubles| | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States | 250 Series | Grass | Artem Sitak |  Marcelo Arévalo Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 21–19 | 2019 Antalya Open – Doubles| | Antalya Open, Turkey | 250 Series | Grass | Artem Sitak | Ivan Dodig Filip Polášek | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 21–20 | 2019 Chengdu Open – Doubles| | Chengdu Open, China | 250 Series | Hard | Fabrice Martin | Nikola Čačić Dušan Lajović | 6–7, 6–3, |
| Loss | 21–21 | 2020 Maharashtra Open – Doubles| | Maharashtra Open, India | 250 Series | Hard |  Andrei Vasilevski | André Göransson Christopher Rungkat | 2–6, 6–3, |
Challenger and Futures finals
Singles: 1 (0–1)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | India F1, Chandigarh | Futures | Hard | Amir Hadad | 3–6, 4–6 |
Doubles: 48 (32–16)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | India F1, New Delhi | Futures | Hard | Noam Okun | Jamie Delgado Lior Mor | 6–7, 7–6, 7–6 | |
| Loss | 1–1 | India F3, Indore | Futures | Hard | Noam Okun |  Ali Hamadeh Andrew Rueb | 6–7, 4–6 | |
| Loss | 1–2 | Israel F1, Jaffa | Futures | Hard | Amir Hadad | Tapio Nurminen Janne Ojala | 2–6, 5–7 | |
| Win | 2–2 | India F1, Chandigarh | Futures | Hard | Amir Hadad | Cédric Kauffmann Fazaluddin Syed | 5–7, 7–5, 6–4 | |
| Win | 3–2 | Croatia F1, Zagreb | Futures | Hard | Nir Welgreen | Ivan Cinkuš Krešimir Ritz | 6–2, 6–1 | |
| Win | 4–2 | Israel F1, Ashkelon | Futures | Hard | Eyal Erlich | Amir Hadad Harel Levy | 6–4, 6–2 | |
| Loss | 4–3 | Ireland F1, Dublin | Futures | Carpet | Amir Hadad | Daniele Bracciali Igor Gaudi | 4–6, 6–3, 3–6 | |
| Win | 5–3 | USA F2, Altamonte Springs | Futures | Hard | Harel Levy | Óscar Ortiz Jimy Szymanski | 6–3, 6–4 | |
| Win | 6–3 | Uzbekistan F1, Andijan | Futures | Hard | Lior Mor | Aisam Qureshi Dmitriy Tomashevich | 7–6, 6–4 | |
| Win | 7–3 | Uzbekistan F2, Namangan | Futures | Hard | Lior Mor |  Yaoki Ishii Satoshi Iwabuchi | 6–2, 4–6, 6–4 | |
| Win | 1–0 | Fergana, Uzbekistan | Challenger | Hard | Lior Mor | Daniel Melo Alexandre Simoni | 6–4, 6–0 | |
| Win | 2–0 | Denver, USA | Challenger | Hard | Lior Mor | Noam Behr Andy Ram | 6–4, 5–7, 6–2 | |
| Loss | 2–1 | Bratislava, Slovakia | Challenger | Hard |  Aleksandar Kitinov | Paul Hanley Paul Rosner | 4–6, 4–6 | |
| Loss | 2–2 | Andrézieux, France | Challenger | Hard | Noam Behr | Julien Benneteau Nicolas Mahut | 3–6, 3–6 | |
| Loss | 2–3 | Magdeburg, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Lovro Zovko | Frédéric Niemeyer Radek Štěpánek | 6–7, 6–7 | |
| Win | 3–3 | Jerusalem, Israel | Challenger | Hard | Michaël Llodra | Noam Behr Noam Okun | 7–5, 4–6, 7–6 | |
| Win | 4–3 | Istanbul, Turkey | Challenger | Hard | Michaël Llodra |  Sander Groen Michael Kohlmann | w/o | |
| Win | 5–3 | Grenoble, France | Challenger | Hard | Andy Ram | Paul Rosner Glenn Weiner | 6–4, 3–6, 7–6 | |
| Win | 6–3 | Puebla, Mexico | Challenger | Hard | Andy Ram |  Marco Chiudinelli Tuomas Ketola | 6–4, 6–7, 6–1 | |
| Win | 7–3 | San José, Costa Rica | Challenger | Hard | Andy Ram | Daniel Melo Dušan Vemić | 6–3, 6–3 | |
| Loss | 7–4 | Brest, France | Challenger | Hard | Andy Ram | Ben Ellwood Stephen Huss | 1–6, 4–6 | |
| Win | 8–4 | Cherbourg, France | Challenger | Hard | Noam Behr | Julien Benneteau Lionel Roux | w/o | |
| Win | 9–4 | Reunion Island, Réunion | Challenger | Hard |  Federico Browne | Marco Chiudinelli Jaroslav Levinský | 6–1, 4–6, 6–3 | |
| Loss | 9–5 | Milan, Italy | Challenger | Carpet | Aleksandar Kitinov | Massimo Bertolini Giorgio Galimberti | 6–7, 6–2, 6–7 | |
| Loss | 7–4 | Great Britain F2, Nottingham | Futures | Carpet | Harel Levy | Mark Hilton Andy Ram | 6–7, 2–6 | |
| Win | 10–5 | Besançon, France | Challenger | Hard | Julian Knowle | Richard Gasquet Nicolas Mahut | 6–3, 6–4 | |
| Win | 8–4 | Greece F1, Syros | Futures | Hard | Andy Ram | Marco Chiudinelli Uros Vico | 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 | |
| Loss | 10–6 | New Delhi, India | Challenger | Hard | Andy Ram | Radoslav Lukaev Dmitri Vlasov | 6–7, 6–4, 2–6 | |
| Win | 11–6 | Lexington, USA | Challenger | Hard | Takao Suzuki | Matias Boeker Travis Parrott | 6–4, 6–1 | |
| Win | 12–6 | Binghamton, USA | Challenger | Hard | Andy Ram | Stephen Huss Myles Wakefield | 6–4, 6–3 | |
| Win | 13–6 | Istanbul, Turkey | Challenger | Hard | Andy Ram | Amir Hadad Harel Levy | 7–6, 7–6 | |
| Win | 14–6 | Bratislava, Slovakia | Challenger | Hard | Harel Levy | Mario Ančić Martín García | 7–6, 6–3 | |
| Win | 15–6 | Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine | Challenger | Hard | Harel Levy | Simon Aspelin Johan Landsberg | 6–4, 6–3 | |
| Loss | 15–7 | Bratislava, Slovakia | Challenger | Hard | Noam Okun | Simon Aspelin Graydon Oliver | 6–7, 3–6 | |
| Win | 16–7 | Ramat HaSharon, Israel | Challenger | Hard | Andy Ram |  Sergei Bubka Mikhail Elgin | 6–3, 7–6 | |
| Loss | 16–8 | 2009 Israel Open – Doubles| | Ramat HaSharon, Israel | Challenger | Hard | Andy Ram | George Bastl Chris Guccione | 5–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 17–8 | 2009 Türk Telecom İzmir Cup – Doubles| | İzmir, Turkey | Challenger | Hard | Harel Levy | Prakash Amritraj Rajeev Ram | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 18–8 | 2010 Israel Open – Doubles| | Ramat HaSharon, Israel | Challenger | Hard | Andy Ram | Alexander Peya Simon Stadler | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 19–8 | 2013 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Men's Doubles| | Vancouver, Canada | Challenger | Hard | Andy Ram | James Cerretani Adil Shamasdin | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 20–8 | 2013 Comerica Bank Challenger – Doubles| | Aptos, USA | Challenger | Hard | Andy Ram | Chris Guccione Matt Reid | 6–3, 6–7, |
| Loss | 20–9 | 2014 Open de Rennes – Doubles| | Rennes, France | Challenger | Hard | František Čermák | Tobias Kamke Philipp Marx | 6–3, 2–6, |
| Loss | 20–10 | 2016 Israel Open – Doubles| | Raanana, Israel | Challenger | Hard | Philipp Oswald | Konstantin Kravchuk Denys Molchanov | 6–4, 6–7, |
| Win | 21–10 | 2017 Nordic Naturals Challenger – Doubles| | Aptos, USA | Challenger | Hard | Neal Skupski | Alex Bolt Jordan Thompson | 6–3, 2–6, |
| Loss | 21–11 | 2017 OEC Kaohsiung – Doubles| | Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei | Challenger | Hard | Alexander Peya |  Sanchai Ratiwatana Sonchat Ratiwatana | 4–6, 6–1, |
| Win | 22–11 | 2018 Canberra Challenger – Doubles| | Canberra, Australia | Challenger | Hard | Divij Sharan |  Hans Podlipnik-Castillo Andrei Vasilevski | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Loss | 22–12 | 2019 Play In Challenger – Doubles| | Lille, France | Challenger | Hard | Fabrice Martin |  Romain Arneodo Hugo Nys | 5–7, 7–5, |
| Win | 23–12 | 2019 Open Harmonie mutuelle – Doubles| | Saint Brieuc, France | Challenger | Hard | Fabrice Martin | Jonathan Eysseric Antonio Šančić | 7–6, 7–6 |
| Win | 24–12 | 2019 Santaizi ATP Challenger – Doubles| | Taipei, Chinese Taipei | Challenger | Hard | Sriram Balaji | Sander Arends Tristan-Samuel Weissborn | 6–3, 6–2 |