Andreas " Andy" Ram (; born April 10, 1980) is a retired Israeli professional tennis player. He was primarily a doubles player, and competed in three Olympics.
He is the first Israeli tennis player to win a senior Grand Slam event. Ram first won the mixed doubles title at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, together with Vera Zvonareva. He then won the mixed doubles title at the 2007 French Open with Nathalie Dechy, and the men's doubles title at the 2008 Australian Open with Jonathan Erlich.
Ram attained his highest doubles ranking of World No. 5 in July 2008. He reached 36 doubles finals and won 20 of them through 2013, mostly with partner Jonathan Erlich; together, they are known in Israel as "AndiYoni". His Davis Cup doubles record, as of 2018, was 20–7.
In May 2014 he announced his retirement, to take effect after Israel's Davis Cup tie in September. In April 2015, Ram, CEO of Pulse Play, announced his new startup – wearable technology and an app for amateur tennis players around the world.
He married his wife Shiri in September 2006, and they have 3 children. The family lives in Tel Aviv. Ram is a fan of the football team Beitar Jerusalem.
Ram was trained by Ronen Moralli at the Israel Tennis Centers in Jerusalem. When he was 15 he was sent to the Wingate Institute, where young Israeli athletes are groomed to become professionals. "It wasn't easy being far away from your family", Ram remembers, "but you know it is going to be your profession and that's what you are going to try to do for life. You practice twice a day and fit in school in between." He became a professional tennis player in 1996, at the age of 16, but did not compete in a Grand Slam tournament until 2001 when he appeared in the Wimbledon doubles with Erlich. "Serving up success", The Jerusalem Post It was at Wingate that he first met Jonathan Erlich, his future doubles partner who was also born in South America.
With partner Jonathan Erlich, his groundbreaking achievement was their reaching the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championships in 2003 as unknown qualifiers. They defeated three seeded opponents en route to the semifinals. In the quarterfinals, in a match in which neither side broke service, Ram and Erlich defeated No. 2 seeded Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor in straight sets: 7–6, 7–6, 7–6. In the semis, Ram and Erlich – the first Israelis to ever advance to the semifinals in any Grand Slam event – lost to the defending Wimbledon champions, Jonas Björkman and Todd Woodbridge.
Ram reached the 2003 Wimbledon mixed doubles final with Anastassia Rodionova of Russia. The couple lost to tennis legend Martina Navratilova and Leander Paes.
Ram felt at that point that he had to choose whether to focus on doubles or singles, as he felt it would be tough to combine the two. He chose to concentrate on doubles.
Ram and Erlich then won the Thailand Open in September and the Lyon tournament in October 2003. They also won first place in Indianapolis, Istanbul, India, Rotterdam, and Milan.
Ram and Erlich won their fourth major tournament in Rotterdam in February 2005, beating Czechs Cyril Suk and Pavel Vízner for the honors. They missed the 2005 French Open grand slam tournament, as Ram's father had died as he was preparing to fly to France.
In August 2005, playing singles he defeated world # 56 Ricardo Mello of Brazil 6–1, 6–4, at the New Haven International.
Ram and Erlich played in the mixed doubles competition in Wimbledon 2005. They faced Kevin Ullyett and Liezel Huber in the quarterfinals, and were eliminated 6–4, 3–6, 8–6. They reached 8th place in the doubles race ranking at the end of 2005, and served as alternates at the Masters Cup in Shanghai.
At Cincinnati, at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, in August he and Erlich won, upsetting the world # 1 Bryan brothers in the final 4–6, 6–3, 13–11. At the US Open, he played doubles with Erlich, losing in the round of 16 to the eventual winners Simon Aspelin and Julian Simon 5–7, 6–7. In mixed doubles with Nathalie Dechy he made it to the quarter-finals.
In 2011, Ram and Erlich won both the 2011 Winston-Salem Open and the Eastbourne International tournament.
In May 2012, Ram and Erlich won the Serbia Open in Belgrade.
In May 2014, at age 34, he announced his retirement, to take effect after Israel's Davis Cup tie in September.
7–5, 7–6(7–4) |
3–6, 3–6 |
6–3, 6–2 |
7–5, 6–3 |
3–6, 1–6 |
{class="wikitable" |
Grand Slam tournaments (1–0) |
Tennis Masters Cup / ATP World Tour Finals (0–1) |
ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (3–7) |
ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (2–3) |
ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (13–7) |
Hard (12–17) |
Clay (1–1) |
Grass (3–0) |
Carpet (3–0) |
Outdoor (12–11) |
Indoor (7–7) |
Win | 1–0 | Indianapolis Tennis Championships, US | International | Hard | Mario Ančić | Diego Ayala Robby Ginepri | 2–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–5 | |
Win | 2–0 | Thailand Open, Thailand | International | Hard (i) | Jonathan Erlich | Andrew Kratzmann Jarkko Nieminen | 6–3, 7–6(7–4) | |
Win | 3–0 | Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, France | International | Carpet (i) | Jonathan Erlich | Julien Benneteau Nicolas Mahut | 6–1, 6–3 | |
Loss | 3–1 | Maharashtra Open, India | International | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Rafael Nadal Tommy Robredo | 6–7(3–7), 6–4, 3–6 | |
Loss | 3–2 | Rotterdam Open, Netherlands | Intl. Gold | Hard (i) | Jonathan Erlich | Paul Hanley Radek Štěpánek | 7–5, 6–7(5–7), 5–7 | |
Win | 4–2 | Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, France (2) | International | Carpet (i) | Jonathan Erlich | Jonas Björkman Radek Štěpánek | 7–6(7–2), 6–2 | |
Win | 5–2 | Rotterdam Open, Netherlands | Intl. Gold | Hard (i) | Jonathan Erlich | Cyril Suk Pavel Vízner | 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 | |
Win | 6–2 | Nottingham Open, UK | International | Grass | Jonathan Erlich | Simon Aspelin Todd Perry | 4–6, 6–3, 7–5 | |
Loss | 6–3 | Los Angeles Open, US | International | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Rick Leach Brian MacPhie | 3–6, 4–6 | |
Loss | 6–4 | Canadian Open, Canada | Masters Series | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Wayne Black Kevin Ullyett | 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 0–6 | |
Loss | 6–5 | Thailand Open, Thailand | International | Hard (i) | Jonathan Erlich | Paul Hanley Leander Paes | 6–5(7–5), 1–6, 2–6 | |
Loss | 6–6 | Vienna Open, Austria | Intl. Gold | Hard (i) | Jonathan Erlich | Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor | 3–5, 4–5(4–7) | |
Win | 7–6 | Adelaide International, Australia | International | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Paul Hanley Kevin Ullyett | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(12–10) | |
Loss | 7–7 | Rotterdam Open, Netherlands | Intl. Gold | Hard (i) | Jonathan Erlich | Paul Hanley Kevin Ullyett | 6–7(4–7), 6–7(2–7) | |
Loss | 7–8 | Italian Open, Italy | Masters Series | Clay | Jonathan Erlich | Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor | 4–6, 7–5, 11–13 | |
Win | 8–8 | Nottingham Open, UK (2) | International | Grass | Jonathan Erlich | Igor Kunitsyn Dmitry Tursunov | 6–3, 6–2 | |
Win | 9–8 | Connecticut Open, US | International | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Mariusz Fyrstenberg Marcin Matkowski | 6–3, 6–3 | |
Win | 10–8 | Thailand Open, Thailand (2) | International | Hard (i) | Jonathan Erlich | Andy Murray Jamie Murray | 6–2, 2–6, 10–4 | |
Loss | 10–9 | Las Vegas Open, US | International | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 6–7(6–8), 2–6 | |
Loss | 10–10 | Indian Wells Masters, US | Masters Series | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Martin Damm Leander Paes | 4–6, 4–6 | |
Loss | 10–11 | Washington Open, US | International | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 7–10 | |
Win | 11–11 | Cincinnati Masters, US | Masters Series | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 4–6, 6–3, 13–11 | |
Win | 12–11 | Australian Open, Australia | Grand Slam | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Arnaud Clément Michaël Llodra | 7–5, 7–6(7–4) | |
Win | 13–11 | Indian Wells Masters, US | Masters Series | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Daniel Nestor Nenad Zimonjić | 6–4, 6–4 | |
Loss | 13–12 | Cincinnati Masters, US | Masters Series | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 6–4, 6–7(2–7), 7–10 | |
Win | 14–12 | Vienna Open, Austria | Intl. Gold | Hard (i) | Max Mirnyi | Philipp Petzschner Alexander Peya | 6–1, 7–5 | |
Win | 15–12 | Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, France (3) | International | Carpet (i) | Michaël Llodra | Stephen Huss Ross Hutchins | 6–3, 5–7, 10–8 | |
Loss | 15–13 | Open 13, France | 250 Series | Hard (i) | Julian Knowle | Arnaud Clément Michaël Llodra | 6–3, 3–6, 8–10 | |
Loss | 15–14 | Indian Wells Masters, US | Masters 1000 | Hard | Max Mirnyi | Mardy Fish Andy Roddick | 6–3, 1–6, 12–14 | |
Win | 16–14 | Miami Open, US | Masters 1000 | Hard | Max Mirnyi | Ashley Fisher Stephen Huss | 6–7(4–7), 6–2, 10–7 | |
Loss | 16–15 | Canadian Open, Canada | Masters 1000 | Hard | Max Mirnyi | Mahesh Bhupathi Mark Knowles | 4–6, 3–6 | |
Loss | 16–16 | ATP Finals, UK | Tour Finals | Hard (i) | Max Mirnyi | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 6–7(5–7), 3–6 | |
Loss | 16–17 | Paris Masters, France | Masters 1000 | Hard (i) | Mark Knowles | Mahesh Bhupathi Max Mirnyi | 5–7, 5–7 | |
Win | 17–17 | Eastbourne International, UK | 250 Series | Grass | Jonathan Erlich | Grigor Dimitrov Andreas Seppi | 6–3, 6–3 | |
Win | 18–17 | Winston-Salem Open, US | 250 Series | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Christopher Kas Alexander Peya | 7–6(7–2), 6–4 | |
Loss | 18–18 | Chennai Open, India | 250 Series | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Leander Paes Janko Tipsarević | 4–6, 4–6 | |
Win | 19–18 | Serbia Open, Serbia | 250 Series | Clay | Jonathan Erlich | Martin Emmrich Andreas Siljeström | 4–6, 6–2, 10–6 |
{class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Legend |
ATP Challenger (1–3) |
ITF Futures (3–0) |
Hard (3–2) |
Clay (0–0) |
Grass (1–1) |
Carpet (0–0) |
Win | 1–0 | Turkey F3, Istanbul | Futures | Hard | Raviv Weidenfeld | 6–4, 6–2 | |
Win | 2–0 | India F3, Madras | Futures | Hard | Ladislav Švarc | 6–4, 6–3 | |
Loss | 2–1 | Kolkata, India | Challenger | Grass | Tuomas Ketola | 3–6, 1–6 | |
Win | 3–1 | Bristol, United Kingdom | Challenger | Grass | Julian Knowle | 6–3, 6–3 | |
Loss | 3–2 | Gramado, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Barry Cowan | 6–2, 4–6, 3–6 | |
Loss | 3–3 | Bronx, United States | Challenger | Hard | Björn Phau | 2–6, 4–6 | |
Win | 4–3 | Israel F2, Ra'anana | Futures | Hard | Clément Morel | 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 |
{class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Legend |
ATP Challenger (16–6) |
ITF Futures (7–4) |
Hard (17–8) |
Clay (2–1) |
Grass (2–0) |
Carpet (2–1) |
Loss | 0–1 | Greece F6, Veria | Futures | Hard | Michael Kogan | Markus Menzler Patrick Sommer | 0–6, 4–6 | |
Loss | 0–2 | Turkey F3, Istanbul | Futures | Hard | Emin Ağayev | Aisam Qureshi Dmitriy Tomashevich | 6–7, 4–6 | |
Win | 1–2 | Turkey F6, Antalya | Futures | Clay | Amir Hadad | Vladimir Platenik Martin Hromec | 6–4, 6–4 | |
Loss | 1–3 | Uzbekistan F4, Fergana | Futures | Hard | Stefano Galvani | Lior Dahan Kris Goossens | 5–7, 6–7 | |
Win | 2–3 | Uzbekistan F5, Karshi | Futures | Hard | Stefano Galvani | Tomáš Čatár Branislav Sekáč | 6–4, 7–6 | |
Win | 3–3 | India F2, Bangalore | Futures | Clay | Nir Welgreen | Aisam Qureshi Miles Maclagan | 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 | |
Win | 4–3 | India F3, Madras | Futures | Hard | Nir Welgreen | Boris Borgula Ladislav Švarc | 6–4, 5–7, 6–4 | |
Win | 5–3 | Kolkata, India | Challenger | Grass | Nir Welgreen | Guillaume Marx Gregory Carraz | 2–1 ret. | |
Loss | 5–4 | France F6, Douai | Futures | Carpet | Lovro Zovko | Gilles Elseneer Arnaud Fontaine | 1–6, 4–6 | |
Loss | 5–5 | Denver, United States | Challenger | Hard | Noam Behr | Jonathan Erlich Lior Mor | 4–6, 7–5, 2–6 | |
Win | 6–5 | Manchester, United Kingdom | Challenger | Grass | Dejan Petrovic | Yves Allegro Ivo Heuberger | 6–2, 7–6(7–1) | |
Win | 7–5 | Córdoba, Spain | Challenger | Hard | Dejan Petrovic | Óscar Burrieza López Daniel Melo | 6–1, 6–4 | |
Win | 8–5 | USA F2, Delray Beach | Futures | Hard | Noam Behr | Lovro Zovko Andrej Kračman | 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–4) | |
Loss | 8–6 | Prague, Czech Republic | Challenger | Clay | Noam Behr | Michal Navrátil Jaroslav Levinský | 3–6, 1–6 | |
Win | 9–6 | Campos do Jordão, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Dejan Petrovic | Adriano Ferreira Daniel Melo | 6–3, 6–4 | |
Win | 10–6 | Belo Horizonte, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Dejan Petrovic | Barry Cowan Eric Taino | 6–3, 6–4 | |
Win | 11–6 | Gramado, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Dejan Petrovic | Adriano Ferreira Daniel Melo | 6–4, 6–4 | |
Win | 12–6 | Grenoble, France | Challenger | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Paul Rosner Glenn Weiner | 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(7–4) | |
Win | 13–6 | Puebla, Mexico | Challenger | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Marco Chiudinelli Tuomas Ketola | 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–1 | |
Win | 14–6 | Costa Rica | Challenger | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Daniel Melo Dušan Vemić | 6–3, 6–3 | |
Loss | 14–7 | Brest, France | Challenger | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Ben Ellwood Stephen Huss | 1–6, 4–6 | |
Loss | 14–8 | São Paulo, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Ignacio Hirigoyen | Federico Browne Rogier Wassen | 6–7(0–7), 6–7(3–7) | |
Win | 15–8 | Great Britain F2, Nottingham | Futures | Carpet | Mark Hilton | Jonathan Erlich Harel Levy | 7–6(9–7), 6–2 | |
Win | 16–8 | Kyoto, Japan | Challenger | Carpet | Amir Hadad | Jan Hájek Jimmy Wang | 3–6, 6–3, 6–1 | |
Win | 17–8 | Greece F1, Syros | Futures | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Marco Chiudinelli Uros Vico | 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 | |
Loss | 17–9 | New Delhi, India | Challenger | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Radoslav Lukaev Dmitry Vlasov | 6–7(6–8), 6–4, 2–6 | |
Win | 18–9 | Binghamton, United States | Challenger | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Myles Wakefield Stephen Huss | 6–4, 6–3 | |
Win | 19–9 | Istanbul, Turkey | Challenger | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Harel Levy Amir Hadad | 7–6(7–5), 7–6(8–6) | |
Win | 20–9 | Israel Open, Israel | Challenger | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Mikhail Elgin Sergey Bubka | 6–3, 7–6(7–3) | |
Loss | 20–10 | Ramat HaSharon, Israel | Challenger | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | George Bastl Chris Guccione | 5–7, 6–7(6–8) | |
Win | 21–10 | Ramat HaSharon, Israel | Challenger | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Alexander Peya Simon Stadler | 6–4, 6–3 | |
Win | 22–10 | Vancouver, Canada | Challenger | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | James Cerretani Adil Shamasdin | 6–1, 6–4 | |
Win | 23–10 | Aptos, United States | Challenger | Hard | Jonathan Erlich | Matt Reid Chris Guccione | 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 10–2 |
4–6, 4–6 |
7–6, 6–7, 2–6 |
Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | Q1 | A | A | Q3 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
French Open | A | Q1 | A | Q1 | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Wimbledon | Q2 | Q2 | A | Q3 | 1R | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | |
US Open | Q1 | Q2 | A | Q1 | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | 1R | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | 3R | W | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | 1 / 11 | 13–10 | ||||
French Open | A | A | A | 3R | A | 2R | 3R | 3R | 1R | SF | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 0 / 9 | 13–9 | ||||
Wimbledon | 2R | A | SF | 1R | 3R | 3R | 2R | QF | 3R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 0 / 12 | 17–12 | ||||
US Open | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | QF | 3R | 3R | 2R | SF | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | A | 0 / 12 | 15–12 | ||||
ATP Masters Series | ||||||||||||||||||||
Indian Wells | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | F | W | F | QF | 2R | A | A | A | 1 / 8 | 17–7 | ||||
Miami Masters | A | A | A | 2R | QF | SF | 1R | 1R | W | 1R | QF | A | A | A | 1 / 8 | 13–7 | ||||
Monte Carlo | A | A | A | 2R | A | 2R | 2R | QF | QF | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 7 | 2–7 | ||||
Rome Masters | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | F | 2R | 2R | QF | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 7 | 4–7 | ||||
Madrid (Stuttgart) | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | 2R | QF | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 8 | 3–8 | ||||
Canada Masters | A | A | A | QF | F | 2R | SF | 2R | F | 2R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 7 | 10–7 | ||||
Cincinnati Open | A | A | A | QF | 1R | SF | W | F | 2R | QF | A | A | A | A | 1 / 7 | 13–6 | ||||
Shanghai | Not Held | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | |||||||||||
Paris Masters | A | A | A | A | QF | 1R | 1R | QF | 2R | F | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 7 | 6–7 | ||||
Hamburg Masters | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | QF | SF | 2R | NM1 | 0 / 5 | 3–5 | |||||||||
Year End Ranking | 103 | 494 | 31 | 32 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 51 | 53 | 113 | 1429 !colspan=3 |
Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | 1R | SF | 2R | 1R | SF | F | QF | QF | 2R | A | 0 /9 | 16–9 | |||||||
French Open | A | QF | A | SF | W | 1R | QF | 2R | 1R | A | A | 1 / 7 | 13–6 | |||||||
Wimbledon | F | 3R | 3R | W | 3R | QF | 1R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 1 / 11 | 19–10 | |||||||
US Open | A | 1R | SF | 1R | QF | 1R | A | 2R | A | A | A | 0 / 6 | 5–6 | |||||||
Israel (ranked 8th in the Davis Cup standings, with 5,394 points) hosted heavily favored Russia (which won in both 2002 and 2006, and was the top-ranked country in Davis Cup standings, with 27,897 points) in a Davis Cup quarterfinal tie in July 2009, on indoor at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv. Israel was represented by Ram, Erlich, Dudi Sela, and Harel Levy. Russia's lineup consisted of Marat Safin (# 24 in the world; former world # 1), Igor Andreev (26), Igor Kunitsyn (35), and Mikhail Youzhny (44; former world # 8). Sinai, Allon, "Int'l Tennis: Ram, Erlich expect the spark to return for Davis Cup tie," The Jerusalem Post, 7/3/09, accessed 7/3/09 The stage was set by Safin, who prior to the tie told the press: "With all due respect, Israel was lucky to get to the quarterfinals." The Israeli team's response was to beat the Russian team in each of their first three matches, thereby winning the tie. Levy, world # 210, beat Russia's top player, Andreev, world # 24, 6–4, 6–2, 4–6, 6–2 in the opening match. Sela (# 33) followed by beating Russian Youzhny 3–6, 6–1, 6–0, 7–5. Israeli captain Eyal Ran likened his players to two on court, saying: "I felt as if I had two F-16s out there today, they played amazingly well." The 10,500 spectators were the largest crowd ever for a tennis match in Israel. The next day Ram and Erlich beat Safin and Kunitsyn 6–3, 6–4, 6–7, 4–6, 6–4 in front of a boisterous crowd of over 10,000. "I started to cry like a little boy", said Ram. Even the Saudi Gazette described the doubles match as a "thrilling" win. Captain Ran was carried shoulder-high around the Tel Aviv stadium, as the 10,000-strong crowd applauded. With the tie clinched for Israel, the reverse singles rubbers were "dead rubber", and instead of best-of-five matches, best-of-three sets were played, with the outcomes of little to no importance. Israel wrapped up a 4–1 victory over Russia, as Levy defeated Kunitsyn 6–4, 4–6, 7–6, while Sela retired with a wrist injury while down 3–4 in the first set against Andreev. "Israel completes Davis Cup win over Russia," Miami Herald, July 12, 2009, accessed August 29, 2011 Israel next faced the Spanish Davis Cup team in Marbella, Spain on September 18–20, in Israel's first appearance in the Davis Cup semifinals. Spain won a 4–1 victory over Israel.
They also represented Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, where they lost to the French team of Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra in the first round, and at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where they were beaten by the Bryan brothers in the quarter-final.
They then represented Israel at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, where they defeated Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka, before losing to the Bryan brothers, who won the gold medal.
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