It was so close but no cigar for Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram who were defeated in the final of the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London on Sunday evening.
Klaasen and Ram were edged 6-2, 1-6, 8-10 in a topsy turvy final that ended with the in-form duo of Henri Kontinen from Finland and John Peers from Australia, taking their inaugural tour finals trophy after going through the tournament unbeaten.
“In the immediate aftermath of the match the overwhelming emotion of having lost a close final in such a big event is disappointing but as a whole the week was very positive and having looked back at the 2016 season, we will be happy at what we achieved this year,” said Klaasen.
For King William’s Town-born Klaasen and American Ram it was their second loss after they were beaten by the same opponents in the group stage.
However, the seventh seeds won both their other group matches, beating the top seeds and then number one doubles team Pierre-Hugeus Herbert and Nicolas Mahut of France and fourth seeds Marc and Feliciano Lopez of Spain, to progress to the semifinals.
Here they met the second seeds and new number one doubles team, Britain’s Jamie Murray and Brazil’s Bruno Soares, who had taken the mantle from Herbert and Mahut when they reached the semis.
In arguably their best performance of the finals Klaasen and Ram dispatched them 6-1, 6-4 in exactly an hour to power into the final.
“I am happy overall with our performance,” said Klaasen.
“I feel we have taken our level up a notch and if we keep this level up we will be putting ourselves in contention for a lot more titles, including majors.”
Klaasen and Ram ended the year with 34 wins and 20 losses over the season, including reaching six finals while winning two – the Chengdu Open and the Gerry Weber Open – and finishing runner-up at this past weekend’s tour finals, the Miami Open, Geneva Open and the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championship.
“While it has been a good season for us it has had some inconsistencies and if we want to compete for the number one spot we realise consistency is the key,” said Klaasen.
“We have been close to winning a slam and we have proven by having beaten the best teams in the world that we can.”
Klaasen and Ram now head into a short off-season with Klaasen returning to SA for a while before getting ready for the new season.
“I am returning to Cape Town to take some time off before starting my off-season training in Cape Town in the first week of December.
“I then leave for Brisbane, Australia on December 28, so not much time for a break and I am into preparing for the Australian swing of the tour in the new year.”
SA’s Raven comes short in World Tour final showdown
Klaasen and Ram were edged 6-2, 1-6, 8-10 in a topsy turvy final that ended with the in-form duo of Henri Kontinen from Finland and John Peers from Australia, taking their inaugural tour finals trophy after going through the tournament unbeaten.
“In the immediate aftermath of the match the overwhelming emotion of having lost a close final in such a big event is disappointing but as a whole the week was very positive and having looked back at the 2016 season, we will be happy at what we achieved this year,” said Klaasen.
For King William’s Town-born Klaasen and American Ram it was their second loss after they were beaten by the same opponents in the group stage.
However, the seventh seeds won both their other group matches, beating the top seeds and then number one doubles team Pierre-Hugeus Herbert and Nicolas Mahut of France and fourth seeds Marc and Feliciano Lopez of Spain, to progress to the semifinals.
Here they met the second seeds and new number one doubles team, Britain’s Jamie Murray and Brazil’s Bruno Soares, who had taken the mantle from Herbert and Mahut when they reached the semis.
In arguably their best performance of the finals Klaasen and Ram dispatched them 6-1, 6-4 in exactly an hour to power into the final.
“I am happy overall with our performance,” said Klaasen.
“I feel we have taken our level up a notch and if we keep this level up we will be putting ourselves in contention for a lot more titles, including majors.”
Klaasen and Ram ended the year with 34 wins and 20 losses over the season, including reaching six finals while winning two – the Chengdu Open and the Gerry Weber Open – and finishing runner-up at this past weekend’s tour finals, the Miami Open, Geneva Open and the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championship.
“While it has been a good season for us it has had some inconsistencies and if we want to compete for the number one spot we realise consistency is the key,” said Klaasen.
“We have been close to winning a slam and we have proven by having beaten the best teams in the world that we can.”
Klaasen and Ram now head into a short off-season with Klaasen returning to SA for a while before getting ready for the new season.
“I am returning to Cape Town to take some time off before starting my off-season training in Cape Town in the first week of December.
“I then leave for Brisbane, Australia on December 28, so not much time for a break and I am into preparing for the Australian swing of the tour in the new year.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos