Tennis

Ram and Erlich reach last eight in Israel

By Simon Griver, May 7, 2009

Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich reached the quarter final of the Israel Open with a 4-6, 6-1, 10-8 victory over Simon Stadler and Amir Hadad.

The pairing had not played together since Erlich injured his elbow last August.

Ram and Erlich agreed that Ram will continue playing part of the time with his new partner Max Mirnyi of Belarus and partly with Ram ahead of Israel's quarter-final Davis Cup tie at home to Russia in July.

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Ground-breaking Peer kept in check in Morocco

By Simon Griver, April 30, 2009

Shahar Peer (53) became the first Israeli to play in Morocco when she beat Aravane Rezai (95) in the first round of the SAR tournament in Fes.

Seeded eight, Peer lost her second round clash against Czech Lucie Hradecka (91).

Tournament organisers rejected Peer’s request not to play on Remembrance Day for Israel’s fallen soldiers on the grounds that her first round match had already been put back a day to accommodate her late arrival from Estonia.

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Peer will go to Morocco

By Simon Griver, April 23, 2009

Shahar Peer will represent Israel in the Federation Cup World Group II playoff in Estonia this weekend before flying to Fes where she will become the first ever Israeli to play in Morocco.

Defeat for Israel in Estonia, after they narrowly lost to Ukraine earlier this year, will result in relegation to the European regional zone. Estonia will be strong favourites with Kaia Kanepi (19) and Ani Maret (111) high ranked than Peer (53) and Tzipi Obziler (228).

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Barclays Bank shareholders’ visa ban revolt

By Marcus Dysch, April 14, 2009

Barclays’ sponsorship of a tennis tournament from which Israel’s top woman player was barred will be criticised at the bank’s annual meeting next week.

Some shareholders are angry that the bank continues to lend its name to the Dubai Tennis Championships, following the refusal of the United Arab Emirates to grant a visa to Shahar Peer to compete in the 2009 event in February. The decision prompted the Wall Street Journal Europe to withdraw its sponsorship and the Tennis Channel to cancel coverage.

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Mirnyi helps Ram to win his 16th title

April 7, 2009

Andy Ram and Max Mirnyi won the Sony Eriksson Miami Open. It was Ram’s 16th doubles title and his second with Mirnyi.

The International Tennis Federation has fined Sweden $40,000 for playing last month’s Davis Cup tie with Israel behind closed doors and Malmo has been banned from hosting games for five years. The ITF did not accept the Swede’s claim that spectators had to be barred for security reasons. Israel won and play Russia in the World Group quarter final.

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Israel turns up the heat on Russians

By Simon Griver, March 19, 2009

A major row has erupted in Israel over the venue for July’s Davis Cup quarter-final against Russia.

The Israel Tennis Federation wants to stage the tie at Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Nokia Arena rather than at the Ramat Hasharon tennis centre. The basketball arena can seat nearly 12,000, double the capacity of Ramat Hasharon.

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Israel loves Swede smell of success

By Simon Griver, March 12, 2009

Israel will host Russia in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup World Group in July after claiming a stunning 3-2 victory over Sweden in a controversial clash in Malmo.

In a decision that angered Swedish public opinion and the International Tennis Federation — and made Israel all the more determined to succeed — Malmo City Council banned spectators claiming that it could not secure the venue.

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Protests mar Israel’s Davis Cup joy

By James Martin, March 9, 2009

Israel has advanced to the quarter-finals of tennis’s most prestigious national team cup in a match that was overshadowed by violent political protests.

Israel’s joy at beating Sweden 3-2 and earning a tie with Russia in July, was tempered by the fact that violence erupted outside Malmo’s Baltic Arena during Saturday’s doubles match.

Riots outside the stadium saw rock-throwing protesters attempt to storm into the arena, with Swedish police forced to apprehend around 100 protesters.

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Ram slams decision

By Simon Griver, March 5, 2009

Israeli doubles specialist Andy Ram believes that Sweden have made a “stupid decision” in preventing fans from attending the Davis Cup tie between the two nations, starting today.

Having become embroiled in an international dispute over a visa to compete in Dubai last month, he said: “I think it was a wrong decision. Maybe it will open the door for other countries to make a stupid decision like this one. I think it’s going to be very bad to play without a crowd.”

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Ram: why I played in Dubai

By James Martin, February 26, 2009

Israeli tennis star Andy Ram has explained his reasons for deciding to go ahead and play in the Dubai Open after being labelled unpatriotic by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Mr Ram was given a visa to play in the UAE only after a high-profile controversy the previous week over the exclusion of his compatriot, Shahar Pe’er, from the women’s tournament.

Ha’aretz quoted the Prime Minister as saying: “It would be highly worthwhile for someone to advise him to demonstrate patriotism and solidarity, and boycott the tournament.”

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