Jonathan Erlich is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time and one of the greatest Jewish tennis players of all time. The 2022 Tel Aviv Open marked the end of Elrich’s official career, with a unique final chapter to his ATP career next to Novak Djokovic on the doubles court.
Sandra Harwitt profiled Erlich – along with his long-time doubles partner Andy Ram – in her book “The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time,” a guide to the best and most influential Jewish tennis players in the history of the sport. The following is an excerpt from the book (available here http://www.amazon.com/dp/193755936X/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_iEgYub1G0P727 via Amazon.com) that profiles Erlich.
Erlich was born on April 5, 1977 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His family — father, Daniel, an assistant general manager of a department store, and his mother, Susana —
moved to Israel when he was just 1. He started playing tennis when he was 3 when his dad took him to the local tennis courts for Saturday morning lessons.
“There was a coach throwing balls to kids who were like 3 or 4 years old — that was my start,” Yoni said during a conversation at the 2013 French Open. “I was a pretty good talent, so I moved on to twice a week, three times, four times a week and then I was practicing every day. I’m the only one to play in the family. My dad wanted me to play football, basketball, tennis, everything, but I went for tennis because I was best in that.”
Erlich and Ram first encountered each other at the Wingate Institute, where they both went to live and train. Despite the difficulties inherent in moving away from home early on, Ram, already determined to be a future pro, turned up at Wingate barely into his teens.
“When I was 14, I left home because I decided I wanted to be a professional,” said Ram. “So I moved to the Wingate Institute near Natanya. That’s where I met Jonathan. That’s
where I met the top athletes of Israel because they all practice there at this institute.”
Despite the three-year age difference, Erlich and Ram bonded almost immediately. The duo also credit coach Ronen Moralli for helping them develop as players. Moralli originally worked in Jerusalem, but eventually moved to Wingate as a national coach. Moralli is known to have said early on of Ram that while from a technical point of view he wasn’t the strongest, he was born with an uncanny understanding of the game. And any tennis player can tell you that having the innate ability to know exactly what you’re supposed to be doing at every turn in a match is a skill that can only be taught to a certain level.
Initially, Yoni and Andy were pursuing singles and doubles. Then, as a duo, they reached the doubles semifinals during their second visit to Wimbledon in 2003, falling to defending champions Jonas Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge — the Bjorkman-Woodbridge combo won the Wimbledon title from 2002 through 2004.
“The first time we had a big breakthrough was in 2003 when we made the semifinal of Wimbledon and that was kind of the breakthrough for us to stick with doubles,” said Erlich, explaining why they both became dedicated to doubles. “Suddenly, we found ourselves top 50 in doubles and, by the end of the year, top 30 in the world. We decided we were very good in that, and we were young and feeling great. We had a good, opportunity to do very, very well. So we both agreed that it would be a good opportunity to have a good career. We’re very happy about that choice.”
While the two haven’t always exclusively played with each other — at times, one or the other of them were injured — they’ve primarily partnered through much of their career. In 2006, Ram made history in becoming the first Israeli to win a Grand Slam trophy. Unfortunately for Erlich, he was not along for the ride as Ram won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon with Russian Vera Zvonareva. The following year, Ram delivered a second Grand Slam title to Israel, and again Erlich was left watching as Ram won the mixed doubles title at the 2007 French Open with Nathalie Dechy of France.
Yoni, however, would finally get his chance to be a Grand Slam champion in 2008. Along with Andy, the duo captured the Australian Open men’s doubles title with a victory over the French pairing of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra: “Winning the Grand Slam in Australia, that was our big thing,” said Erlich, smiling at the memory. “It cannot get bigger than this. It was very huge, very big at home.”
In all, they have won 15 career titles together on the tour — Andy won four other titles with different partners, and Yoni won two other titles without Ram at his side. For four straight years, from 2005 to 2008, Erlich and Ram ranked Top 10 in the season-ending standings with their best year-end ranking No. 5 in 2008.
AndiYoni have also performed well in Davis Cup for Israel, leading the country to its only World Group semifinal showing in 2009. As a team, they have a 17-5 win-loss record in the international team competition. Ram has played the most Davis Cup ties in history for Israel at 26 to date:
“Reaching the semifinals of Davis Cup, that was a big present for our country, just a big achievement for Israeli tennis,” Erlich noted.
The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players Of All Time” is a guide to the best and most influential Jewish tennis players in the history of the sport and includes features and biographies of the greatest players, stories of both break-out success and anti-Semitism. Beginning with the Italian Baron Umberto de Morpurgo in the 1920s, the book features stories such as the best German player who was prevented from playing by the Nazis, the player who competed on both the men’s and women’s tour, the only fully Jewish player to rank No. 1 in the world, and the player who was denied entry into a country to play a Women’s Tennis Association tournament—in the 21st century. This history also discusses the ways in which Jewish individuals have been instrumental behind the scenes, playing key roles in the growth of tennis into one of the world’s most popular sports. Among the 37 players featured are Dick Savitt, Brian Teacher, Ilana Kloss, Aaron Krickstein, Brad Gilbert, Julie Heldman, Amos Mansdorf, Anna Smashnova, Justin Gimelstob, Angela Buxton and Brian Gottfried. The book retails for $19.95 and is available where books are sold, including here on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/193755936X/ref=cm_sw_r_pi_dp_vl8rub1RK7P00
“Tennis does have its ‘Game, Set and Matzo’ element and I am thrilled to present them in ‘The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time,’” said Harwitt. “Each player’s personal saga will touch all tennis fans, Jewish or not, because their stories are instrumental to the history of the game. The experience writing this book was an exciting and rewarding adventure in discovering many fascinating stories.”
Harold Solomon, who is also profiled in the book, contributed the foreword to the book. “You don’t need to be Jewish to appreciate the story of any of these Jewish tennis players,” wrote Solomon. “You just have to be someone who has a curious side and likes to learn about people and how they ended up being who they are and doing what they did.”
Gottfried, the 1977 French Open singles finalist, said of Harwitt, “Who better to write a story about the lives of Jewish tennis players than someone who has ‘been there and done that.’ Sandy has been a fixture on the ATP and WTA Tour for many decades as a very knowledgeable and respected tennis journalist. My family and I have enjoyed getting to know her over the years and being included in her book has been an honor and a privilege.”
Peter Bodo of Tennis.com said, “Sandy Harwitt is a deeply experienced and well-traveled writer, which brings to this book a special stamp of authority. It isn’t just a good book about Jewish tennis players – it’s a good tennis book, period.”
U.S. Davis Cup captain and former world No. 1 Jim Courier said, “Sandy has lived and breathed the sport for years. Her detail and insight into these players personal and professional lives is both remarkable and inspiring.”
Tennis writer and historian Joel Drucker said, “Dozens of Jewish men and women have made a distinctive mark on tennis. Longstanding tennis writer Sandra Harwitt has dug deep to bring these compelling stories to life – fascinating backstories and remarkable journeys both inside and outside the lines.”
Television commentator and former player Mary Carillo said, “Sandy Harwitt is the ideal writer to bring you the lives of the people in this book. She is a true tennis “lifer” and her love and knowledge of the game has produced one remarkable story after another, about tennis players you knew, or wish you knew.”
Harwitt, a freelance sportswriter who specializes in tennis, has covered more than 70 Grand Slam tournaments for media outlets such as the Associated Press, ESPN.com, ESPNW.com, the Miami Herald, the New York Times, and Tennis magazine. She is a member of the International Tennis Writers’ Association and the Association for Women in Sports Media. She lives in Boca Raton, Florida.
Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press (www.NewChapterMedia.com) is also the publisher of “The Greatest Tennis Matches of All-Time” by Steve Flink, “The Education of a Tennis Player” by Rod Laver with Bud Collins, “Macci Magic: Extracting Greatness From Yourself And Others” by Rick Macci with Jim Martz, “The Days of Roger Federer” by Randy Walker, “Andy Murray, Wimbledon Champion: The Full Extraordinary Story” by Mark Hodgkinson, “The Secrets of Spanish Tennis” by Chris Lewit, “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” by Bud Collins, “The Wimbledon Final That Never Was” by Sidney Wood, “Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match” by Cliff Richey and Hilaire Richey Kallendorf, “Titanic: The Tennis Story” by Lindsay Gibbs, “Jan Kodes: A Journey To Glory From Behind The Iron Curtain” by Jan Kodes with Peter Kolar, “Tennis Made Easy” by Kelly Gunterman, “On This Day In Tennis History” by Randy Walker, “A Player’s Guide To USTA League Tennis” by Tony Serksnis, “Court Confidential: Inside The World Of Tennis” by Neil Harman, “A Backhanded Gift” by Marshall Jon Fisher, “Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games” by Tom Caraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli (www.Boycott1980.com), “Internet Dating 101: It’s Complicated, But It Doesn’t Have To Be” by Laura Schreffler, “How To Sell Your Screenplay” by Carl Sautter, “Bone Appetit: Gourmet Cooking For Your Dog” by Suzan Anson, “The Rules of Neighborhood Poker According to Hoyle” by Stewart Wolpin among others.
