Israelis eye Aussie prize
IT’S been a mixed start for the Israelis in their Australian Open preparation, with Shahar Peer failing at the Brisbane International, while doubles pair Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich lost in the final of the Chennai Open.
IT’S been a mixed start for the Israelis in their Australian Open preparation, with Shahar Peer failing at the Brisbane International, while doubles pair Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich lost in the final of the Chennai Open.
Dudi Sela cheered on his compatriots after bowing out in the quarterfinals of the same event.
Peer was knocked out in the first round in Brisbane with a 6-7, 6-1, 3-6 loss to German Andrea Petkovic, but has had a much better start at the Moorilla Hobart International to get her preparation back on track heading into next week’s grand slam.
Peer backed up her poor display in Brisbane with a convincing first-round victory over Czech Lucie Hradecka, winning 6-3, 6-1 in less than an hour. Peer is scheduled to take on New Zealander Sacha Jones today (Thursday) in the second round.
Her mixed form continues from what was an up-and-down 2011, starting the year at number 11 in the world, but fading out to number 37 by November. The slide began following her round-three exit from the first grand slam of the year, a tournament where she has not progressed past the quarterfinals.
But 2012 may be the year where Peer goes a step further in the competition, and if she finds her form from this time last year, she may be able to cause an upset.
Meanwhile, Sela took on world number three Canadian Milos Raonic in Chennai, and after narrowly going down in the first set tie-break, he couldn’t match the 2011 ATP Newcomer of the Year, losing 3-6 in the second to bring his tournament to a close.
The world number 73 now has his sights set on Melbourne Park, where he will be hoping to go at least one step better than his straight-sets, round-one departure last year at the hands of Argentine Juan Martin del Potro. Should Sela crack the top 50, he could represent Israel at the upcoming London Olympics.
Champion duo Ram and Erlich, now the fourth-ranked doubles team in the world, breezed their way to the final of the Chennai Open, but faltered in their battle with Serbian Janko Tipsarevic and Indian Leander Paes, going down 6-4, 6-4. The pair couldn’t handle the gallant Tipsarevic, who is ranked nine in the singles race and lost a marathon three-hour match to Raonic in the singles event only an hour before the match.
It’s fair to say they had a season to forget in 2011, with two first-round and two second-round exits from the four grand slams. However, the two are about to embark on their 10th visit each to the Australian Open, and will be looking to have the same success as they did when they won the doubles tournament together back in 2008.
American top-10 player Mardy Fish has found himself at number eight in the world heading into this year’s tournament. But he will first take part in the prestigious AAMI Kooyong Classic, coincidentally taking on Raonic.
Fish is in the same boat as Peer, never making it past the quarterfinals, and last year he lost to Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the second round. But now, with the added expectation of a top-10 ranked player, he is bound for more glory than recent performances at the tournament.
ASHLEY SHENKER
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