Zeke Clark Assistant Coach | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Zeke Clark Assistant Coach | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Illinois men's tennis alum Rajeev Ram secured the men's doubles silver medal at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics on Saturday, marking the second Olympic medal of his career.
Ram, a 2016 Olympic mixed doubles silver medalist who was competing in his third Olympic Games, is now the seventh Illinois alum to win multiple Olympic medals.
Ram and doubles partner Austin Krajicek began their Olympic run on Monday with a first-round win over Australian duo Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin, 6-2, 6-3. The American tandem then took down Brazil's Thiago Monteiro and Thiago Seybold Wild in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(3).
In the quarterfinals, Ram and Krajicek recorded a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal, which saw the Americans advance to the semifinals.
Looking to earn a spot in the final, Ram and Krajicek dominated en route to a 6-2, 6-2 win against Tomáš Machác and Adam Pavlásek to move into the gold medal match.
Ram and Krajicek came up just short in the final, falling to Australia's Matthew Ebden and John Peers in three sets.
Ram is no stranger to winning hardware, as he was part of Illinois' 2003 national championship-winning team while also amassing an NCAA doubles title and All-America, All-Big Ten First Team, and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.
Ram and Krajicek are the first Americans to win a medal in the men's doubles event at the Olympics since 2016 when Steve Johnson and Jack Sock won bronze in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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