Shahar Peer, who became the first Israeli woman to compete in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when she beat Yanina Wickmayer in the Dubai Open on Monday, says that her win was also a victory for keeping politics and sport apart.
Peer was denied a visa to compete in the UAE last year, but after a lengthy struggle by the WTA Tour on her behalf, earned the right to compete this year — one year after an Israeli man, Andy Ram, made his pioneering appearance in Dubai.
“I think there should not be any involvement of sport and politics,” Peer said after her 3-6, 6-2 7-5 win over the world No. 15 from Belgium.
PHOTO: AFP
“I was not really thinking about the victory that I am here,” Peer said after volunteering that she had had a lot of support around the world after being denied a visa last time.
“But there are a lot of emotions coming on after this win,” Peer said. “It’s more than beating Yanina, it was more of me handling all the stuff around and able to put everything on the side and just play tennis, and do what I like to do, and just concentrate on the [match] and not the politics.”
To achieve Monday’s win Peer had to travel from the hotel to the venue with a special guard, ignore the lookouts on the top of nearby roofs and accept unusual scheduling, on an outside court at noon, which had been designed for her safety.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Asked afterwards if it felt like a normal tennis match, despite the security arrangements, she replied: “I mean I started pretty bad. I was very frozen and I didn’t move. Actually, I twisted my ankle on the second point and I was like, ‘oh my god, I mean, I don’t need this.’ I thought, ‘finally I’m here and on the second point I might go home.’ But it was a little bit different [from that].”
Victory earned Peer a second-round encounter yesterday with Virginie Razzano, the world No. 24 from France, which is another tough, but winnable match.
If the Israeli did win again, she would almost certainly earn a quarter-final with the top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki — and create a dilemma.
Security concerns which put Peer on to an outside court early in the day would conflict with the custom that a tournament promotes itself by scheduling its best players on to its center court.
■OPEN 13
AP, MARSEILLE, FRANCE
Seventh-seeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win against Daniel Brands in the first round of the Open 13 on Monday.
The 24-year-old Baghdatis, a runner-up at the Australian Open in 2006, proved too strong on serve, saving the only break point he faced and winning 85 percent of his first-serve points.
He broke his German opponent three times and next plays either Michael Llodra or Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the second round of the indoor hardcourt event.
Llodra was runner-up to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga last year in an all-French final.
Florent Serra of France also advanced in straight sets, beating Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 6-3, 6-3. Serra did not face a single break point and converted all three of his breakpoint chances.
Mischa Zverez of Germany beat David Guez of France 7-6 (3), 6-4.
Zverez was serving for the match at 5-3 and 30-30, but Guez broke back to 5-4. However, the Frenchman’s serve wilted and he quickly slipped to 0-40 and Zverez took the first match point.
■COPA TELMEX
AP, BUENOS AIRES
Third-seeded Nicolas Almagro has been knocked out in the first round of the Copa Telmex, losing to fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver.
Gimeno-Traver won 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 6-3 on Monday in the outdoor clay-court event at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club. In another first-round match, seventh-seeded Victor Hanescu of Romania defeated Eduardo Schwank of Argentina, 6-3, 7-5.
In a late match, Argentine David Nalbandian won the first set against Potito Starace 6-2 before play was suspended due to rain.
Spaniard David Ferrer is the top-seeded player in the event and fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, who won the Brazil Open on Sunday, is seeded second.
■MEMPHIS ATP-WTA
AP, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
Top-seeded Maria Sharapova downed American Shenay Perry 6-0, 6-2 in the Cellular South Cup on Monday, winning her first match since she was upset in the first round of the Australian Open.
Sharapova used her strength to move Perry around the court and keep her off balance, advancing in less than an hour.
“I thought I was very aggressive,” Sharapova said. “To play every point with a strong mentality in every match, it’s impossible to keep going up, up, up and hit a winner on every single ball. So, when I did feel like I maybe missed a few, I still was going for it. I wasn’t tentative.”
In the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships — the men’s side of the Memphis tournament — No. 3 seed Radek Stepanek advanced with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victory over South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, while sixth-seeded John Isner beat 17-year-old qualifier, and fellow American, Ryan Harrison 6-1, 7-5.
American Taylor Dent, who won the tournament in 2003, lost to Germany’s Philipp Petzschner 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
On the women’s side, No. 3 seed Kaia Kanepi of Estonia beat Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands 6-0, 6-4.
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