Nov. 16, 2008

The hometown crowd got what they wanted Sunday at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana, as two former Illini won titles on the final day of the JSM Challenger. Kevin Anderson was a straight set winner over Kevin Kim for the singles title, while Rajeev Ram teamed with Bobby Reynolds to win the doubles. It's Anderson's first win here, and Ram's third doubles championship.

For Anderson, it was a dominating run through the draw, not losing a single set along the way, including Sunday against Kim. His strong service game was rarely challenged, and he fed off of the vocal support from University of Illinois tennis fans.

"It was great being able to win my first tournament of the year, especially in Champaign," Anderson said. "It was really a fantastic week for me, in terms of the support and fans watching all of my matches. Just terrific throughout."

Anderson receives a check for $7,200 for his victory, and 60 ATP Tour points. Kim takes home a check for $4,240, and 42 points. Both will be close to a top 100 ranking when the ATP tour officially releases the latest standings later tonight.

Former Illini Rajeev Ram had a tougher road, as he and Reynolds lost their first set Sunday to the French duo of Olivier Charroin and Nicolas Tourte. But Ram says they never lost confidence.

""We played a pretty good match," he said. "Actually, my partner played quite well today, especially early in the first when I was struggling. Those guys played a couple of very solid games to get that first set. But we just hung in there, and knew we'd get our look eventually. We just had to take advantage of our openings."

Ram and Reynolds did, and eventually pulled through in the third set super breaker. Ram has reached five finals in Champaign now, winning three of them, with three different partners. Rik De Voest had the honor in 2006, while Brian Baker was Ram's partner in 2004.

The tournament is now complete, with another record setting crowd in attendance throughout the week. This was the JSM Challenger's 15th year of existence. A complete draw featuring scores from the week's events can be found at www.illinoischallenger.com.

Sunday's Results:
Main Draw Singles, Finals:
#7 Kevin Anderson (RSA) def. #5 Kevin Kim (USA) 6-3, 6-4
Main Draw Doubles, Finals:
#1 Rajeev Ram/Bobby Reynolds (USA) def. Olivier Charroin/Nicolas Tourte (FRA) 3-6, 6-3, 10-6

Quotes:
Kevin Anderson: "I've been working hard over the last few weeks, and then today I just came out and played really well. He had a few break points early in the second, and I was able to fight them off. It's just great to get this win."

Rajeev Ram: "That's my third win in five finals here. That's a pretty good record. I'm just happy to get through with a win today. The goal is for us to get in the Australian Open together, and we're going to need another good result next week. But it's always nice to get a win here at my second home."