By Rebecca Harris | @MsRebeccaHarris

RIO DE JANEIRO — On July 30, Rajeev Ram was sitting at home in Carmel, Ind., wondering how he would spend the rest of his summer. Then he got a call that changed his August plans, as he found out he would be sent to the 2016 Rio Games after all when the defending gold medalists, Bob and Mike Bryan, dropped off the Olympic tennis team.

Thursday, less than two weeks later, he took the court with tennis legend Venus Williams to play in the first round of the mixed doubles tournament, helping keep her 2016 medal dreams alive after she lost in both singles and doubles and his own, after a loss in round two of the men’s doubles tournament.

Ram, with his bright orange shoes, and Williams, with bright red streaks in her hair, won their quarterfinal match Friday evening against Fabio Fognini and Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-3, 7-5.

Continue reading From IndyStar: Carmel’s Rajeev Ram pairs with Venus Williams in Olympics