Tennis circuit stays on court despite looming hostilities

Letter from Dubai

Although we are separated from Baghdad by 900 miles, a glance at a map of the Middle East suggests that Iraq measures only half a thumb away at the top of the Gulf. The second proximity may occur to visitors to this oasis of business, sport and entertainment.

It crossed the mind of Tim Henman, Britain's No 1 tennis player and a doting father, who is here for the Dubai Open, in which his first-round match is against Attila "the Hungarian" Savolt, whose game tends to be less fearsome than his name. "The tournament has done a great job of organising everything," Henman said yesterday, "but fingers crossed and touch wood. To a certain extent you have to get on with things, but it's probably safer here than being in London."

Business as usual in Dubai is the slogan, though there is hardly a person here who is not alert to news updates on the Iraq crisis. As competitors arrived for the men's tennis event, which starts today, featuring an evening match between Goran Ivanisevic, the rehabilitating former Wimbledon champion, and Andrei Soliarov, of Russia, Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati and Justine Henin-Hardenne were homeward bound after last week's successful WTA tournament.

"I had a choice of either going to Palm Springs, California, or making my first trip to Dubai," Navratilova said after receiving her doubles trophy. "I'm so pleased I came here. We talk about the ethnic and cultural mix in the States, but there's a wonderful mix here. I wish they'd had a tournament here when I was still playing singles."

Salah bin Tahlak, the tournament director, and Lieutenant Essa Hamza Ahli, head of the security force from Dubai Police, have been going about their duties calmly but firmly. "You will have noticed," Tahlak said, "that we have never used the metal detectors, because the minute you put these in, people start panicking that something has happened or might happen. Everything is being controlled in a very low-key fashion."

The question is, what happens if war breaks out in Iraq? "The tournament would carry on as normal, but with more security," Tahlak said. "Unless, of course, something comes from the Sheikh. It's his call whether we continue or cancel." Lt Ahli said security at the tournament had been increased since the 9/11 attack on the United States. "Before that we had 60 policemen, now we have 75 or 80 policemen. We have soldiers and officials. It's never private security."

The tennis event marks the start of a series of high-profile sports events in Dubai. The Dubai Desert Classic is due to be held at the Emirates Golf Club from 6 to 9 March, and Tiger Woods, who played here two years ago, has indicated that he will not come if war has started in Iraq. The tournament was cancelled during the Gulf War in 1991. So, too, was the United Arab Emirates National Football League, many of whose amateur players are employed by the police and armed services.

The Dubai World Cup, the world's richest horse race, is scheduled to be run at Nad Al Sheba on Saturday 29 March, and England are due to play in the World Youth Cup in the UAE from 25 March to April 16. Fifa, world football's governing body, is in the process of making arrangements in case the event has to be moved to another location.

For the moment, as Henman said, people are getting on with things, even though, in the weeks to come, their sporting endeavours may seem trivial indeed. The Dubai Open gives Henman an opportunity to test his shoulder in competition for the second time since his operation last November.

In Rotterdam last week, where he lost his opening match to Ivan Ljubicic, of Croatia, Henman's shoulder appeared to be less rusty than his game. "Psychologically, I broke the ice," he said yesterday. "I feel that my shoulder was probably about 95 per cent anyway, but playing that match it seemed like it improved about 20 per cent, and that's not possible really." Anything seems possible in Dubai.

Henman, who lost to Thomas Johansson, of Sweden, in the quarter-finals here last year, will not take his first meeting with the 27-year-old Savolt lightly. Any player good enough to be ranked No 102 in the world is a threat. But, shoulder willing, the fourth-seeded Henman ought to advance to a possible second-round rematch against Ljubicic, and, it is hoped, press on to the later stages. He is projected to meet Roger Federer, the Swiss top seed, in the semi-finals and Russia's Marat Safin, the former US Open champion, in the final.