May 23, 2011

Singles Draw | Doubles Draw

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Former Illini All-Americans Kevin Anderson and Rajeev Ram will compete in the second Grand Slam event of the year, Roland Garros, held May 22-June 5 in Paris, France. Anderson will be competing in singles and earned the No. 32 seed in the tournament to become the first Illini ever to be seeded at Roland Garros, formerly known as the French Open. Ram will be competing in doubles with fellow American Scott Lipsky. Anderson will meet Nicolas Mahut in the first round on Tuesday and will also be competing in doubles with Carsten Ball. The duo will face 11th-seeded Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in the first round, while Ram and Lipsky will take on the seventh-seeded duo of Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach.

Anderson has enjoyed his best year yet on the ATP Tour, as he currently owns a world ranking of No. 35, just two shy of the career-high No. 33 he reached in April. The South Africa native also is currently the highest ranked former U.S. college player in ATP tennis, as he surpassed former University of Georgia standout John Isner, who is ranked No. 39.

"From his first day on campus Kevin demonstrated an unyielding desire to get better," Illinois head coach Brad Dancer said. "He constantly focuses attention on every aspect of his game to improve and take him to his ultimate goal of being a top-10 ATP player. Everyone always credits Kevin's success to being 6-7, but those same people weren't there when he was taking 6:30 a.m. lessons five days a week. Vision, determination and competitive fire have always been and will continue to be the cornerstones of Kevin's success."

For complete Roland Garros tournament information click HERE.