Israeli tennis player Andy Ram advances to Australian Open finals

Israeli tennis player Andy Ram and his French partner Natalie Dechy on Thursday advanced to the mixed doubles finals at the Australian Open competition.

Ram and Dechy defeated the Spanish pair Anabel Medina Garrigues and Tommy Robredo 6:7 and 4:6 in the mixed doubles semi finals. The final competition is due to take place Sunday at 7 A.M. Israel time.

The two round game was tight as Ram and Dechy managed to overpower their opponents only after a tie-breaker that ended the first round (7:9). Although the Israel pair fell behind during the second round, they still pulled themselves together and overcome their opponents.

Andy Ram's history of Grand Slam titles speaks for itself. He was the first Israeli player to receive the title after winning the 2006 Wimbeldon tournament with partner Vera Zvonareva, who lost Thursday morning's semi finals game to rival Safina.

In 2007, Ram won the Roland Garros tournament with Dechy, and went on to win the Australian tournament that same year with partner Yoni Erlich.