London: Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram sailed into the doubles final with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win against Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals being held at the O2 Arena here.

Mirnyi and Ram who had topped Group A followed a better record at the end of the round robin matches, had not much of a problem against a pair that had shown signs of being able to compete against the best here.

The win for the seventh seeds against the Czech-Slovak pair was complete in an hour and 33 minutes of engrossing tennis. And barring for some occasions, the semifinal never saw the pairing of Ram and Mirnyi – who have announced they are going separate ways next season - being stretched.

Ram and Mirnyi will now await the winners of the second semifinal that was to be played later on Saturday between third seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles and second seeds Bob and Mike Bryan from the US.

Mirnyi and Ram stuck to a percentage game, not taking too many chances against an opposing pair that is capable of beating the best. They got their first break early and Ram and Mirnyi went on to hold and win the set easily.

The second was more compact as the Czech and Slovak put everything in it to try and break even. But Ram and Mirnyi stuck to their gameplan and then took the tie-break at 7-4 to seal a fine victory and ensure their first final together.

Result: (Doubles semifinal) Max Mirnyi/Andy Ram bt Frantisek Cermak/Michal Mertinak 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram secured their place in the last four of the ATP World Tour Finals by beating Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes at the O2 Arena in London.

Mirnyi and Ram saw off the double Grand Slam champions 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 to make it two wins from their three matches.

Ram told the tournament website: "At the crucial times, when we needed the points, we controlled it and we're happy to have got through."

Andy Ram and Max Mirnyi took a significant step towards advancing to the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals in London, England, on Monday, defeating number 2 seeds, Bob and Mike Bryan, 6-4, 6-4 in the doubles tournament opener.

Despite the convincing straight-sets victory, Ram will not be getting ahead of himself just yet.

The Israeli also won his first round robin match in his two previous appearances in the prestigious season-ending tournament only to eventually miss out on a semifinal berth.

His showings in what was then known as the Masters Cup came in 2006 and 2007 with regular partner Yoni Erlich.

Superb serving was the key to the Israeli/Belarusian duo's impressive victory on Monday. Ram and Mirnyi got 78 percent of their first serves in and subsequently won 33 of 38 points.

"Be aggressive, play with energy," Ram answered when asked of the team's tactics in Monday's victory. "The Bryans always play with high energy. You have to keep up the same intensity.

"We did that well today. We have to serve very well against the Bryans and stay all the time ahead, if you can. When they're ahead, it's tough to catch up."

Despite being broken in the second game of the match, Ram and Mirnyi fought right back and reeled off the next four games.

The duo trailed 0-30 when serving for the set in the 10th game, but didn't give the Americans a chance to break back and a Ram smash clinched the first set.

Ram and Mirnyi began the second set with a break and never looked back. The Bryans failed to reach a single break point in the second set and a Mirnyi ace wrapped up the win.

"Today was a good day for us," said Mirnyi. "We did what we wanted to do and managed to execute the game plan we had. So when that happens, it's a good indication for our game.

"We're here to play our best tennis," the 32-year-old righthander added.

"In the round-robin format, we know we're going to be in for three matches, and we want to make sure we do our best each point at a time, each game at a time, and see what happens at the end of the round robin.

"We certainly are happy, excited, confident about playing this tournament, and look forward to winning every match we can play."

Mirnyi - Ram Vignette

Andy Ram arrived in London on Thursday with mixed emotions ahead of his participation in next week's ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena.

Ram competed in the prestigious season-ending event, previously known as the Masters Cup, with Yoni Erlich in 2006 and 2007.

However, the 29-year-old doubles expert Ram qualified for this year's finals with Belarusian Max Mirnyi, with whom he played 15 tournaments during 2009 following the temporary breakup with his longtime Israeli partner due to Erlich's longterm injury.

"This is the first time I will be playing in this event without Erlich and that is very difficult," Ram said on Thursday.

"We spoke on the phone and he wished me luck. Nothing compares to traveling and playing with Yoni. No matter what I achieve with other partners it is different playing with Yoni.

"Nevertheless, on a personal level my goal at the start of the season was to reach this tournament and I'm very excited to be participating in the tennis event of the year."

Ram and Mirnyi, who are seeded seventh from the eight doubles teams which reached the event, will face Bob and Mike Bryan (2) in their first match on Monday.

The Israeli/Belarusian duo will play Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes (4) and Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach (6) in its other Group B matches, with the top two teams to qualify for the semifinals.

Besides receiving a $65,000 participation fee, Ram and Mirnyi will be awarded $22,500 for each match they win in the round robin stage, with a semi final victory worth an extra $30,000 and a final win another $125,000.

Ram and Mirnyi will split up after next week, with
the 32-year-old Belarusian to play a depleted schedule next year to focus on his family life.
"It was a real privilege to play with Mirnyi, one of the leading doubles players in recent years," Ram said.

"He is a rare man and a real professional. I enjoyed every moment and I'll have to wait and see who I will be playing with next year."

SAN FRANCISCO - Yuri Foreman late Saturday night became the first Israeli to claim a professional boxing crown when he defeated Daniel Santos of Puerto Rico to take the WBA junior middleweight (under-70 kilogram) title on points.

Foreman, a Belarus-born Israeli who has lived in Brooklyn for 10 years and is studying to be an Orthodox rabbi, won the 12-round bout by unanimous decision - 116-110, 117-109 and 117-10.

The 29-year-old Foreman was so excited after his victory that a few minutes after midnight he called his father in Haifa from his MGM hotel suite in Las Vegas to give him the big news.

"Before I entered the ring my wife, Leyla, told me: 'Yuri, can I ask you something? Do me a favor, finish it quickly with a knockout,'" he told his father. "I knew why she asked me this, I knew it's hard for her to see me in a fight long enough to take several blows. I also thought I wanted to end it with a knockout."

Foreman told his father how he prayed and said Pslams until he had his rival on the ropes, losing his balance. "I saw him wobbling," he said. "I knew another blow or two and I would send him to the floor and win with a knockout, but then the bell sounded, ending the round and saving him."

Foreman is a rare combination of power and smarts. He comes from a poor family that immigrated to Israel after the collapse of the Soviet Union. His father works in Haifa as a mechanic, but Yuri moved to New York nearly a decade ago. A few years later, he began studying in a Brooklyn yeshiva to become an ordained Orthodox rabbi.

He has a very strict schedule, studying Torah in the morning and doing intense physical training both inside and out of the ring in the afternoon. He does a lot of weight lifting, running and fitness training.

The transplanted Brooklynite took a 27-0 record into the title fight, while Santos boasted a record of 32 wins - 23 by knockout, three losses and one draw. Going into the fight, Santos was considered a boxer with vision, power and great stamina.

Foreman said that in preparing for the southpaw he knew that if he could stand his ground, the Puerto Rican would not be able to knock him out. "So I worked hard for months to be at the peak of fitness," he explained. "They were very exhausting, difficult months to both study for the rabbinate and practice, but now I know the hard work paid off and proved itself."

Although Santos was the favorite to defend his world title, Foreman had the edge almost the entire way with fantastic legwork, showing that fitness and a lot of courage did not succumb to Santos' physical superiority.

"It's a fact we had 12 tough rounds, but thank God every time I got back into the ring for more I said prayers in my heart, and it worked," he said after the fight. "If you ask me what my strength is, I'll tell you it's in my brain. I run around the ring and keep thinking. I think I need to prove to everyone, not just myself, to the whole world that Jews know how to fight, that Jews know how to give a good fight and not surrender. I said it right after the fight, when they pushed the microphones at me and the cameras clicked. I said I wanted to prove that Jews are not a weak people that can be made to bend down and surrender, that Jews know how to fight and win. Actually, there are a lot of Jewish champions in the history of sports."

The place was packed, as the fight was on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. With tickets, which were a minimum of $200, picked up weeks in advance, it's no wonder none of Foreman's yeshiva buddies made it to cheer him on. Moreover, the event was held just after Shabbat ended.

However, Foreman knew his friends would be following the fight and praying for him. "My wife Leyla spoke on the phone from Las Vegas to my rosh yeshiva in Brookyn before the fight began, and the rabbi told her that all the students were saying Psalms for me, and they paid a lot of money to see my fight on direct TV," said Foreman, referring to the $55 pay-per-view price of the fight.

In contrast to the usual arrangement where the winner of the world crown takes the lion's share of the winnings, Santos walked away with $123,750 while Foreman only took home $41,250.

"It was arranged before the fight that the champ would get 60 percent of the proceeds and I would get 40 percent," Foreman explained. "But it doesn't matter much because in the next bout I'll come into the ring as world champion, and then I'll get the majority and my rival will have to settle for a smaller share."

Foreman said after the fight that he was hungry, tired and just wanted to rest. "I want to forget about boxing for a few good weeks," he said. "Later we'll start planning the next move. Now I want to enjoy a little quiet when I can dedicate myself to my rabbinic studies and enjoy having a world crown." Barring any surprises, Foreman expects to finish his rabbinic studies within a year, at which point he will be ordained. "I think it would be most fitting for me to return to Israel and be a rabbi for a community there," he said. "I could leave Israel once in a while to box."

Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich made a triumphant return to the ATP Tour on Wednesday, defeating top-seeds Michal Mertinak and Frantisek Cermak 6-3, 7-6 (7) to advance to the quarterfinals of the St. Petersburg Open.
Jonathan Erlich, right, and...

The Israelis, who last teamed-up on tour in the US Open in August 2008, will next face the Russian duo of Igor Andreev and Mikhail Youzhny.

Ram and Erlich parted ways late last year following the latter's long-term elbow injury. While Ram, aged 29, has done well with different partners, especially Max Mirnyi, Erlich's comeback has not gone as smoothly. The 32-year-old fell all the way down to No. 268 in the world during his absence and subsequent subpar return.

The Israeli duo will play together in one more tournament in the coming weeks in the hope of helping Erlich to pick up some valuable ranking points, before Ram gets back together with Mirnyi ahead of their participation in the World Tour Finals in London next month.

"It seems as though every time I play with Andy our matches get closer," joked Erlich, who also played with his good friend in Israel's last two Davis Cup ties.

"He must think I'm his age and that my heart can take it. It was fun to be back on tour after so long, especially with Andy. The energy levels were excellent and the level of play was very high."