For all you real tennis fanatics out there, check out the ATP World Tour Fantasy Challenge that is set to begin at Indian Wells this week.

Fans get to make their bracket picks in each of the nine Masters Series events on the tour. The winner at the end of the year gets a trip for two to the Barclays ATP Tour Finals event in London, England. The three runners-up will receive some nice gift cards to use on Head products.

I have always enjoyed these types of promotions and it's fun to see how you stack up against other tennis fans out there. You have to be quite knowledgeable but also a bit lucky to make a good run. You might also want to mark the dates of all nine events in your day-planner because if you miss registering for one of the tournaments in time you have pretty much blown your chances of staying in the hunt.

I've gone with a Djokovic/Roddick final in my bracket - how about you? I think Federer is going to be vulnerable due to his lack of match play since the Aussie Open and his recent lung infection. Nadal is also just returning from injury so count him out as a contender. Murray has been inconsistent, Del Potro is not playing due to his own injury issues and Davydenko is still dealing with the fact he blew it in Australia against Federer. To me that leaves Roddick and Djokovic to have a pretty good run this week.

I'd love to see how our readers fare in this Fantasy Challenge, so let's see what you've got. We can compare with the so-called experts we have at Tennis Diary as the year progresses.

You have until Thursday March 11th at 2pm ET to make your picks for the BNP Paribas Open. Good luck!

Oracle, the world's most integrated business software and hardware systems company, sets Fundraising Goal at $1 Million as Graf, Navratilova, Henin and Davenport join the event and play doubles for charity on the evening of Friday, March 12.

A women’s match featuring an astounding 50 Grand Slam titles on the same court. They will be the first match that evening, which will be followed by the match comprised of 44 Grand Slam title holders, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras playing Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi.

The event will be broadcast live in numerous countries around the world, and domestically on the Tennis Channel, beginning at 7:30 PM PST. In addition, live web streaming will be available on bnpparibasopen.org, TennisTV.com, atpworldtour.com, sonyericssonwtatour.com, usta.com, tennis.com, espn360.com, and others. As a show of support, Steve Simon, tournament director announced, the broadcasters, satellite uplink providers and production teams of the event are picking up all of the production costs to ensure that the maximum amount of money can be generated for the fundraising effort.

The evening will begin at 7:00 PM with the annual Salute to Heroes ceremony, where the tournament will recognize veterans, military personnel, police, firemen and women, and Red Cross volunteers for their efforts in the community and around the world.

The ceremony and tennis exhibition will be followed by one main draw match.

For more information about the BNP Paribas Open, or to purchase tickets and travel packages, visit www.bnpparibasopen.org, call 800-999-1585 or 760-200-8000, or visit the box office, 78-200 Miles Avenue, Indian Wells, CA, 92210.

Oracle, the world's most integrated business software and hardware systems company, sets Fundraising Goal at $1 Million as Graf, Navratilova, Henin and Davenport join the event and play doubles for charity on the evening of Friday, March 12.

A women’s match featuring an astounding 50 Grand Slam titles on the same court. They will be the first match that evening, which will be followed by the match comprised of 44 Grand Slam title holders, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras playing Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi.

The event will be broadcast live in numerous countries around the world, and domestically on the Tennis Channel, beginning at 7:30 PM PST. In addition, live web streaming will be available on bnpparibasopen.org, TennisTV.com, atpworldtour.com, sonyericssonwtatour.com, usta.com, tennis.com, espn360.com, and others. As a show of support, Steve Simon, tournament director announced, the broadcasters, satellite uplink providers and production teams of the event are picking up all of the production costs to ensure that the maximum amount of money can be generated for the fundraising effort.

The evening will begin at 7:00 PM with the annual Salute to Heroes ceremony, where the tournament will recognize veterans, military personnel, police, firemen and women, and Red Cross volunteers for their efforts in the community and around the world.

The ceremony and tennis exhibition will be followed by one main draw match.

For more information about the BNP Paribas Open, or to purchase tickets and travel packages, visit www.bnpparibasopen.org, call 800-999-1585 or 760-200-8000, or visit the box office, 78-200 Miles Avenue, Indian Wells, CA, 92210.

Ernests Gulbis has perplexed tennis fans for a while now, but after Sunday's win in Delray Beach it just might be the wait is over

Seeing a player spring to life on a tennis court is always a satisfying and totally pleasant experience, especially when we know the player is extremely talented and capable of playing well, but has had a hard time putting that talent on full display.   

Ernests Gulbis of Latvia gave us that "a-ha" thrill on Sunday, after winning his first ATP title in Delray Beach  after beating "Dr. Ivo" Karlovic in straight sets. 

What most impressed me about the 21-year-old's win was his breaking Karlovic's serve three times, twice in the first set, once in the second.  That alone should earn Gulbis a gold medal of sorts.  I can't ever remember someone zeroing in on the return game to perplex the big Serb bomber the way Gulbis did on Sunday.  Most players I suspect may move their lips in a quick prayer and hope for a faint glimpse of trailing smoke as the guided missile flies by them, if they are lucky to see even that.   But Gulbis actually behaved like he was drawing beads on every serve from the time it left Karlovic's racquet until Gulbis connected with it.  He wasn't deploying the Roger Federer approach of chipping the serve back into play, he was creaming the shot.  Whether he was seeing the ball exceptionally well, or anticipating its direction, Gulbis got inside Karlovic's head when it came to his serving, and when you can manage to do that, you take away his fangs. 

He even got Dr. Ivo to double fault on championship point. 

"As good as I was playing yesterday (Saturday)," Karlovic said after the match, "this is how he was playing today."  It was Ivo's 31st birthday, so the celebration was no doubt a bit muted.  But the 6'9" player had an excellent run anyway this week, showing us yet again why he is more than just a one-trick wonder.  It was just unfortunate his game dropped that little bit in the final.  He actually has a backhand now, and although he doesn't exactly cover the court in terms of movement, his arms are so long their reach alone makes up for it. 

To Gulbis's credit though, he brought enough toys to the party to perplex Karlovic, beyond his excellent return game.  His serve is smooth, quick and powerful and he got a load of freebies with his first serves.  Everything about this guy's game is smooth and powerful; he is a real pleasure to watch when he is on like he was Sunday.  His is basically a ground game:  his forehand is big and powerful too, although he likes to slap at it with a wristy action, similar to the style of Marin Cilic.  Sometimes the lad has not quite known what to do with that forehand; it can break down, as can his focus.  Both were well- maintained on Sunday.  He ventured forward to net on several occasions, showing some crisp volleys and a willingness to mix it up when he saw an advantage. 

The question might be, why is Gulbis showing this good stuff now?  Why not a year or two ago, when he first showed signs of leaping up in the rankings after a quarterfinal showing at Roland Garros?  His new coach Hernan Gumy deserves just about all the credit.  He took Gulbis on last September, and the fit was nearly perfect from the get-go. 

Gumy probably deserves a gold medal too.  He appears now to be specializing in head cases he can coach, including Marat Safin, who occupied Gumy's time before Gulbis came along.  Marat was probably too far along towards retirement when they hooked up, so the results were bound to be mixed.  But Gulbis is certainly alive and young and kicking and Gumy is going to wring every good drop there is to wring out of this kid, I think.  His problem has been stringing the talent together over time, building the consistency, keeping mentally strong during the tough moments.  Now it's dawning on him how to really play the game. 

"I started to work with him," said Gulbis recently in an interview, "and everything was clear.  He's a really good coach.  He has helped me with every aspect of my game."

Gulbis has perplexed me for a while now, so his win on Sunday I feel is a very good omen for the men's game.  Cilic announced himself last year, this may be the year now for Gulbis.  Could maybe Tomas Berdych get it going too?  And Richard Gasquet, who has still not utilised a great deal of the talent he has? 

Ivo Karlovic has definitely signed on to the Gulbis bandwagon after Sunday.  "He was very cool, calm.  Nothing could impress him.  This year is going to be his breakthrough."

[correction appended]

Depression

I’ve had a weird weekend. It’s been all about depression. Not my own but our current understanding of it.

First there was the review of a book which concludes that we are not, contrary to popular opinion, overmedicating our children with Ritalin, Prozac, etc. And this is despite the fact that the author went into the book convinced otherwise.

Then an article by Louis Menand in The New Yorker about the medicalization of depression. Studies show no discernible difference in recovery between people who take antidepressants versus those that get therapy but, Menand asks, would you really want to take a pill to avoid mourning the loss of a loved one? No, I would not.

And now, an article in the New York Times suggesting that treating depression with antidepressants can take away a valuable opportunity to solve difficult problems in our lives. Reminds me of my friends who skip the depression of ending a relationship by immediately jumping into another one thus keeping themselves in an endless pattern of bad relationships because they learn absolutely nothing from their past mistakes. Honestly, the only thing keeping me from doing the same thing is my difficulty in finding dates.

According to the last article, a helpful treatment for mild depression is writing a personal essay about your feelings. I’m depressed about Dubai. I’m going to write about it.

Dubai

Roger Federer didn’t show up in Dubai, neither did Rafael Nadal, and though Andy Murray did, he used it as a practice session for the slams and went out in the second round.

Juan Martin Del Potro has a wrist injury as does Nikolay Davydenko. Novak Djokovic isn’t sure he wants to be number one. He pulled out the title over Mikhail Youzhny today in three sets but he has a ton of points to defend in the coming months and doesn’t look up to the task.

Most depressing of all: Dubai was presented with the award for the 2009 ATP World Tour 500 Tournament of the Year.

Let me think about this for a minute. Dubai refused entry to Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich in 2008 though we don’t know why because neither the players, nor their management, nor the tournament, nor the ATP would talk about it. Dubai refused entry to Shahar Peer in 2009 because, the tournament organizers said, they couldn’t guarantee Peer’s safety.

One week later Andy Ram was given a visa to play in the men’s event and thus Dubai is crowned tournament of the year.

Dubai takes care of its players. It’s a rich tournament that plays hefty appearance fees and it has great attendance, but what was the ATP thinking? The ATP and WTA may have played their diplomatic cards correctly by allowing the men and women’s events in Dubai to continue in 2008 and 2009 after players were denied entry. Clearly they were successful because Ram got his visa and Peer played in this year’s event.

But the timing of this award makes it look like the ATP is rewarding Dubai for something it should have done long ago. And it’s not like Dubai doesn’t feel loved. This is its sixth Tournament of the Year award and 14th ATP award. I can’t imagine the players are happy about this and there are three player representatives on the ATP Board of Directors. Were they consulted?
[correction: Scratch that. The players vote on their favorite tournament and this is the one they chose. Now I can be mad at the players too. What were they thinking?]

The sports world can’t help but find itself smack dab in the middle of the world’s political conflicts. Last year alone the Davis Cup match between Israel and Sweden had to be played to an empty stadium due to widespread protests in Sweden, and Australia refused to play in India after terrorists attacked Mumbai in late 2008.

This is a tough thing for the tennis world to negotiate and there are no easy answers. But the Tournament of the Year award should have been easy. The ATP should have had the spine to give it to someone else.

twitter.com/ninarota

It was just over a year ago that I first took serious notice of Shahar Peer. Unfortunately it was not due to her results on the tennis court but rather for the uproar that was generated when she attempted to join the playing field in the 2009 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. As the 45^th ranked in the world at the time, Peer should have been allowed to participate in the tournament. Instead, her request for a visa into the United Arab Emirates was denied, and tournament officials hid behind claims of security concerns to justify their decision. The tournament proceeded despite Peer’s exclusion, although the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour levied a fine of $300,000 on the tournament and threatened to remove the event from the schedule in 2010 if Peer was not allowed to compete.

Fast-forward one year and Peer’s first visit to Dubai turned out to be a Cinderella story that captivated those both inside and outside of the tennis world. Despite being up against some of the best players on the tour, the now 22^nd ranked Peer put in one of the best showings of her young career. Along the way to the semi-finals, she defeated 13^th seeded Yanina Wickmayer, 2009 finalist Virginie Razzano, top seeded Caroline Wozniacki and 8^th seeded Li Na before falling to eventual champion Venus Williams, 6-1, 6-4.

In many ways Peer’s visit was groundbreaking and resulted in success both on the court with her play and off it as well with her courage and positive attitude. Many players would not have risked their safety by venturing into such a situation. The Emirates do not allow Israeli’s into their country and for that reason alone Peer’s conduct and bravery have been most admirable. There were no incidents during her stay in Dubai and she spoke positively about the experience.

Still, there were restrictions placed on her during her stay that take away from the wonderful story this should be. Again using the crutch of safety as their justification, tournament officials confined Peer to her own separate locker room, made her play all of her matches on a remote outside court, denied regular media access to her and even limited her stay in Dubai to the tournament site or her hotel room.

Throughout it all however, Peer maintained a grounded and upbeat attitude and looked upon the experience as a step in the right direction both personally and professionally speaking. Two days after the women’s tournament ended, I had the opportunity to interview Peer’s coach, Pablo Giacopelli and delve further into the significance that this tournament has had for them both and for the future of Shahar’s career.

Giacopelli began coaching Shahar Peer back in November of 2008. He had just finished coaching Kaia Kanepi where he helped her ranking go from 80^th to 25^th in the world and attain the quarter-finals of the French Open. Giacopelli heard that Peer was looking for a coach and her manager Amit Naor heard that the coach was looking for a new player. The rest as they say is history.

Here is the Q&A that followed between Pablo and I. It is an interesting glimpse into the professional relationship between a player and coach as well as an in-depth look into their recent trip to Dubai.

Tennis Diary: What are some areas of Shahar’s game that you have seen progress since you became her coach and what areas still remain to improve upon?

Pablo Giacopelli: Her whole game has changed. When we started working together Shahar was a counter puncher that relied very much of the other person making mistakes and her taking opportunities that were presented to her instead of her creating these opportunities for herself. To change this is a very difficult thing to do as you are essentially changing the very nature of the player and the way they play the game. Still, I knew that this was the only way to move forward and for her to turn her career around. We began working on her forehand and serve and patterns of play that would bring order into her game.

These changes of course took longer than they should have done because of two unexpected interruptions we had with the visa denial in Dubai last year and Shahar getting a stress fracture on her right foot which took her out of the game for ten weeks. Once we got the three months of solid tennis I knew we needed to have for her to assimilate these changes then things began to come together. I think these areas I have mentioned can still improve as she uses them and puts them into practice over and over. Her physical fitness has also improved though I believe she can still become stronger and quicker around the court.

Tennis Diary: What do you think her potential is?

Pablo Giacopelli: I believe that she is definitely a top 15 player with potential to become a top 10 in time. I say in time as I believe that breaking into the top ten takes time and perseverance and it is through this time that you to build the necessary elements that will then help you to stay within the top ten once you get there. Usually those that burst with a bang into the top 10 also leave with a bang before they know it. (This is) something that happened to Shahar in the past, though she only reached a career high ranking of 15. We are working hard to help her grow as a player and a person so that the same fall does not take place next time she reaches the top.

Tennis Diary: Did Shahar ever think of staying away from the Dubai event or was she always 100% interested in competing there?

Pablo Giacopelli: Not going to Dubai was never an option especially after what had happened last year and the fact that the tournament was made to guarantee her a visa and even a place in the draw through a wild card if she did not gain direct entry into the event this year in case her ranking was not high enough though this was not the case.

Tennis Diary: Was there any apprehension or fear on the part of Shahar, yourself or her father about going to Dubai? Did you feel safe throughout the event?

Pablo Giacopelli: I believe that there was a concern from both sides as we unfortunately are indirectly part of a bigger conflict that has been going on for centuries, which we have nothing to do with or have contributed in any way towards making it happen. This conflict of course brings with many ramifications for both sides and one of those is the possible unfortunate event of falling prey to it. During our time in Dubai we felt safe and very well cared for by the people that were in charge of taking care of us and our safety.

Tennis Diary: Do you feel the security measures taken were justified or were things blown out of proportion?

Pablo Giacopelli: This unfortunately is something I cannot comment on as I was not aware of all that could have been potentially been going on behind the scenes, especially after the assassination of a top Hamas general on Dubai soil. In other words, what I or we might have considered over the top might have been justified by the possible threats the security people were aware of that we were not.

Tennis Diary: Did you have any restrictions placed on you while in Dubai or were they just placed on Shahar?

Pablo Giacopelli: The only restrictions I had placed upon me were to not discuss the security issues with anyone, which I think was fair enough considering the situation and possible risks at hand. The restrictions that Shahar had did not apply to me at all as I am not Israeli and I was not staying with them.

Tennis Diary: What did Shahar do with so much free time at the hotel and how did she feel about being confined there? Were you not allowed to stay at the same hotel?

Pablo Giacopelli: She only had a considerable amount of free time after she lost in the doubles as she had been playing up to that point two matches a day with the last matches finishing around 6 pm or thereabouts. After that she spent her time on the internet at the hotel and just reading and spending time with herself and dad who was staying with her. I chose to stay in a different hotel though I could have stayed with them. On a side note, I believe every situation in life presents you with an opportunity, and without exception this one did just that as it allowed Shahar time to think and focus on things that perhaps in the past she had not been able to or aware of because of how she used her free time when she had no restrictions on her movements.

Tennis Diary: Is it true the press was not allowed to ask her questions during the tournament?

Pablo Giacopelli: The press was allowed to speak to her. The only thing that was different the first few days we were there was that only one member of the press was allowed to come to the place where she was whilst at the tournament and ask her all the questions and then on his or her own return to the press room share out her answers to the rest of the media and journalists. As the days went by more and more people seemed to come to speak to her after her matches. I was of course available without restriction and in fact spoke to various journalists every day.

Tennis Diary: How much attention has this story received back in Israel?

Pablo Giacopelli: The story has been huge for two reasons. One the history it has and the history it was making and two the huge run and success Shahar had whilst in Dubai. After returning (to Israel) it is still getting much press as it was a truly historical breakthrough not just for her tennis but also for an Israeli woman to play in a place like Dubai for the first time.

Tennis Diary: Shahar is a top-25 player, but her results in Dubai and the quality of players she defeated were most impressive. To what do you attribute her excellent play throughout the tournament? Was the adversity she faced off the court partly responsible for her determined play on the court?

Pablo Giacopelli: I think it is important to take notice of the fact that she is a climbing top 25 player and not one that has been there for the last 2 years. In fact I believe after Dubai she should be once again in the top 20. Her impressive run is a continuation of the momentum she has been building up since the US Open last year. I believe that is the evidence of all the work we have been doing. Of course these type of situations tend to spark something inside Shahar, however, I don’t believe she would have done this well, no matter how big the spark was, if her level of tennis was not where is at today which as we saw was good enough to beat two top 10 players, a top 15, and the last year’s runner-up in Dubai.

Tennis Diary: How was she able to maintain such a positive attitude about this entire experience? Did all of the restrictions frustrate her to a certain degree?

Pablo Giacopelli: Well we prepared ourselves before going there mentally as we knew that it would be a completely different experience to what we were normally used to. I obviously went out of my way to reassure her and encourage her at all times that she was there to play and to show the tennis world what she was made of. We focused on one thing at a time each day and one challenge at a time. We did not focus on what was going on around us believe it or not and as difficult as that was at times. I think the only frustration she had was that she could not see the beautiful place Dubai is or go up to the top of the tallest building in the world.

34-year-old Randall yelled as he missed the shot and smashed his racket into the asphalt. His complaint? He was having trouble staying faithful to his girlfriend, Mary Anne. I felt there was more under-the-surface frustration.

I asked him what he was betraying when he was being unfaithful. “The promise of monogamy,” he said. He immediately laughed out loud. “Yeah. Why did I promise that? Every girl I see—“

“Every?” I asked.

We leaned on the net. “When I know I can have any girl, I can’t stop myself.”

“Even if it hurts Mary Anne?”

“She even gets mad… at the porno.” He shook his head with disgust.

“She found out about that universe?”

“Computer glitch…”

His obsessive nature was apparent. On court, he obsessed about overpowering the ball no matter what. Even with the porn, when Mary Anne asked him to stop, he could only do so for a week.

Randall offered a theory: Perhaps he was living in multiple universes, one where he was a regular guy with regular desires and fantasies; a second where he tried hard to fit in perfectly fulfilling other people’s needs. But the universes were no longer working together. They were colliding.

I asked him, “After you leave the computer trail, after you play the victim, then Randall… honestly… what happens?”

“I’m lonely.”

“And after sex with a real person—other than you—what happens?”

“Shit,” he said. “Lonely.” He sighed.

“And is that the same shit that shows up in your game?” I asked, adding in another parallel. “You try to conquer your opponent fast and hard. You play in isolation—without context or care for the consequences. Happiness or harm. You play with no intimacy. It’s all about you.”

He looked at the ground and then at the sky. “I hate intimacy.”

We both laughed.

Randall humbly suggested he should just hit balls alone—against a wall—rather than play matches. I joked that that’s what his sexual partners probably think as well. They’re left in bed alone or wake up hung-over wondering who they are and who they are with.

An addiction as complicated as his has no easy nor quick cure. But showing up on the court was a beginning to breaking the cycle of self-deception.

At the end of our session, I asked him for a “fidelity rally”—a rally while he imagined being faithful. He seemed to understand, starting lucid and strong, committed to watching the ball and engaged in the hitting, not just wanting to win.

It didn’t last long. By the eighth stroke, his eyes wandered—into the future, into boredom or to the next set of breasts… only he would know. His shot, meanwhile, plopped into the net.

“Not even 20 seconds…” he said, in a moment of clarity “Nope,” I agreed. “Not even as long as you look at your computer porn. Maybe next time…”

What distracts you from being faithful? Without those distractions, would faithfulness be able to fulfill you? Does celebrity and power exonerate faithlessness?

Original post appeared by sports/life coach Zach Kleiman 6 Feb,2010 www.SoulPancake.com

Shahar Peer's magical run in Dubai came to an end on Friday with Venus Williams prevailing in their semi-final encounter by a score of 6-1, 6-4 on a remote outer court at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. Williams attained her third career victory over Peer in as many attempts. Despite the loss, Peer's results this past week have become one of the feel-good stories of the 2010 professional tennis season.

After being banned from entering the United Arab Emirates a year ago, Peer has demonstrated great courage in showing up to compete and has made the most of her first trip to the country by advancing to the semi-finals. Along the way she has defeated some serious competition in the form of 13th seeded Yanina Wickmayer, 2009 finalist Virginie Razzano, top seeded Caroline Wozniacki and 8th seeded and Australian Open semi-finalist Li Na. Peer has certainly been making up for lost time hasn't she?

The road to the semi-finals has not been an easy one on and off the court. Aside from the tough opponents she has faced across the net, Peer has also faced much adversity and restrictions away from competition. This cinderella story is not without its less than ideal circumstances.

The world's 22nd ranked player has received no scheduling accommodations from the tournament, as each one of her matches have been played at 11:00am local time, despite the fact that often she has played in the doubles competition as well the day before. This is the first time-slot on the schedule and is played during the hottest period of the day as well.

Peer has only been allowed at the tournament venue to practice or play her matches - no viewing other matches or fraternizing with other players. In fact, fraternizing with her fellow competitors is next to impossible since the Israeli has not been allowed to use the players locker room. Instead, she has been secluded in her own separate change room the entire week.

That isn't the only area where Peer has been segregated from others. She is staying at her own hotel and apparently has an entire floor to herself due to "security concerns." Even her own coach is staying elsewhere. Peer has been forced to remain at the hotel at all times when she is not at the tournament site. She is not allowed out to see any of the city at any time. She has basically been treated like a prisoner during the times of the Roman Empire and only allowed out when it is her time to fight in front of the crowd. At least the gladiators were allowed to fight in the coliseum.

In Peer's case, she has been confined to a much smaller outdoor court for every match she has played. Even when facing off against top seeded Caroline Wozniacki she was confined to this court and this routine continued on Friday in her match against Williams. Would tournament organizers have continued this ridiculous practice if she had made it to the finals? While this tactic has likely worked to Peer's favor, (as she has developed a comfort level with the court no-doubt) it also seems absurd to force two deserving semi-finalists to play in such a distant and obscure setting. And how about the limitations this places on tennis fans wanting to watch? How many spectators were prevented from catching this marquee match?

While I admire Shahar for deciding to make the difficult decision to show up in Dubai after the way she was discriminated against a year ago, I can't imagine how she has managed to endure the despicable manner in which she has been treated while in Dubai. I have not heard anything about the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour standing up for Peer in the face of such bigotry, nor do I expect that we will. A year ago they meekly fined the tournament $300,000 and threatened to pull the plug on the event if any player was refused entry in 2010. They lacked the ability to take a true stand then and it seems they are repeating the same cowardly mistakes again now.

If a WTA player is going to be admitted into a tournament, then she should be allowed to be present with the same privileges and freedoms as everyone else. No isolation treatment and no segregation from her fellow players. Security measures can be enacted while still allowing the player a measure of respect. This is the Twenty-first century and all athletes on tour deserve better than this from their employer and from the tournaments that they chose to play in. If Dubai cannot put aside its blatantly racist attitudes then it is not worthy of hosting an event like this in the future. Time to move on and find another platform to showcase the best female tennis players the world has to offer - without exception.

In a first round clash between fellow Americans, Andy Roddick emerged victorious over James Blake at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships by a score of 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3) on Wednesday. It was his first win over the 55th ranked Blake in their last four meetings, yet improved Roddick's career record against his compatriot to 7-3.

For Blake it is another early round loss as he adjusts to life as an unseeded player.

“Whoever won was going to be pretty darn well-prepared for the rest of the tournament and feel good about their chances,” Blake said. “It’s tough to swallow.

“It just didn’t go my way on a couple of points,” Blake said of the tiebreaker. “A couple of missed backhands, and he kept the pressure on me the whole time.”

The draw has opened considerably for Roddick as Fernando Verdasco, Radek Stepanek and Tommy Haas were all sent packing in the first round. Roddick is the only player remaining of the top four seeds left in the tournament.

It should be noted however that Roddick is still dealing with issues to his right shoulder as he mentioned during a recent press conference in Memphis.

Shahar Peer's first tournament in Dubai is turning out to be quite the memorable experience so far. Israel's best tennis player defeated top seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 7-5 on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals against Li Na at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.

This story has captivated me since a year ago when Peer was refused entry into the United Arab Emirates to compete in the tournament due to her Israeli citizenship.

Despite her inclusion this year, there are still numerous restrictions being placed on Peer during her stay in Dubai. While I'm working on an article that outlines these measures, check out her coach - Pablo Giacopelli - as he blogs about their experiences in Dubai. On top of clearly being an excellent instructor, Giacopelli has a fluid writing style and sly sense of humor that I've enjoyed reading. He also provides excellent insight into the manner in which Peer is being received during her stay in the Emirates.

For more Shahar Peer news, check her out on Twitter or her official website.

Stay tuned in the days ahead for my complete article on Shahar Peer and the real story of her first visit to Dubai.