DOUBLES QUALIFIERS

Jonathan Erlich & Andy Ram

Israelis Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram were elevated from their alternate status to a playing berth at the prestigious Tennis Masters Cup after an elbow injury prevented Mike Bryan from making the trip to Shanghai with his brother Bob.

Erlich and Ram, who finished at No. 9 in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race, will be making their second appearance at the Tennis Masters Cup after making their debut last year. They went 1-2 in round robin play with their sole victory coming against the Bryans.

The duo excelled on North American hard courts in 2007, clinching their first career ATP Masters Series shield by defeating the top-seeded Bryans in the Cincinnati title match and reaching back-to-back finals in Las Vegas and ATP Masters Series Indian Wells early in the season. They also helped Israel attain Davis Cup World Group status for the first time in 13 years, prevailing over Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu in a 10-8 fifth set of the doubles rubber in September’s playoff against Chile.