The plan seemed so perfect that you had to wonder, when it all fell apart, if the script was just too good for real life.
For his final tournament after 25-plus years as a professional, Yoni Ehrlich practiced daily with longtime partner Andy Rahm and was then scheduled to play his final dance alongside the legendary Novak Djokovic at the ATP tournament in Tel Aviv.
You already know what happened and especially what didn't happen.
On the training ground with Ram, Ehrlich worsened the back condition that had been bothering him in recent years.
Then on Wednesday night, the scenario we all don't want to face was inevitable: Ehrlich walked onto the court alongside Djokovic and announced he couldn't play.
No amount of love and adrenaline from the heartbroken crowd could push him through even one more game.
Ehrlich and the sore back.
Everyone was hoping for a different ending, photo: Alan Shiver
For Israeli tennis lovers like me, the initial impulse is to cry loudly, just like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did at Federer's last dance in London that Djokovic attended just before arriving in Israel.
But as I listened to Ehrlich answer questions during a 20-minute press conference with more smiles than sadness, I was reminded that this brutal end doesn't change June's legacy.
Ehrlich was a Grand Slam champion when he made history alongside Andy at the 2008 Australian Open. And he retires, at the age of 45, as a true champion.
From Glickstein to Mansdorff, Farr, Levy and Sela - no great Israeli tennis player has ever played better, for a longer time, than Jonathan Dario Ehrlich.
Andioni hoisting the Australian Championship trophy in 2008, photo: AP
We can debate for hours what Ehrlich's best career moment was: that magical Australian run, the Davis Cup glory against Chile and Russia, or perhaps the partnership with Rahm in the legendary victory over Federer and Stan Wawrinka at the 2012 Wimbledon Olympics.
However, I don't think Ehrlich's achievements were discussed anywhere after his "tennis brother" had to retire due to injury.
Andy Ram and Yoni Ehrlich.
Israel's safe spot in Davis for so many years, photo: Alan Shiver
Ready for one of the amazing statistics in the history of Israeli sports?
Since 2014, when Ram could no longer play due to pain, Ehrlich has played with 65 different partners on the ATP Tour or Davis Cup.
sixty five!
Another amazing statistic: June's clay title run in Belgrade in May 2021 alongside Andrei Vasilevskiy made him the doubles champion at the age of 44. John McEnroe (47) is the only one in ATP history to win the championship at an older age.
Let's say it again: Ehrlich is in a very exclusive club behind only John McEnroe.
"In all my years, Yoni is the most professional athlete I've worked with," Tamir Chen, a veteran physiologist of Israel's Davis team, told me.
The way Ehrlich prepared for his final dance, taking multiple shots and trying everything possible so he could pick up his familiar Wilson bat one last time, made that statement absolutely true.
Yoni Ehrlich.
We will miss you, photo: Oren Aharoni
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