Novak Djokovic has advanced to the next level in Dubai. He has greatly improved his play during the last few days, and his playing ability is getting a lot better now. He is pleased with his playing ability right now and will be working his way up the tournament over the next week or so. At the same time, a worthy competitor, Andy Murray, has pulled out. He is apparently sick with a virus that some people worry may be the same as the one that hampered Federer last season and caused a player to retire the previous season. Hopefully that’s not the case, but he said that he has been sick since about the end of the Australian Open. We’ll have to keep an eye on this one, because we want to see him back and competing at his great previous level soon!

It’s no secret that Israel and Arab countries in the region have some tense relations at times. Only this year has that tension resulted in problems for the sporting community. In particular, the two Israeli tennis players that were looking to compete in the tournament in Dubai this month were refused visas at first, probably as some part of a larger policy. Eventually they relented. It was too late for Shahar Peer, who was unable to get the visa in time to compete. But Andy Ram was able to get his visa in order to compete next week. Both remain hopeful that, now that the situation has been resolved, it will be less of a problem next year and that everyone will be able to compete if they wish.

In Dubai, we were expecting a real battle on the men’s side. But unfortunately, the tournament will be missing the top two players. After a week of controversy regarding visa problems for Israeli tennis players, it has been announced that BOTH Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will miss the Dubai competition next week. Federer is still having back problems, as he has been sitting out for several weeks already and evidently will take as long as a month off moving forward. Nadal has had knee problems starting just a week or two ago during his loss to Andy Murray that we discussed last time.

Andy Murray beat out Rafael Nadal at the ABN Amro Tournament this weekend. Andy Murray almost lost anyway, despite the fact that Nadal had an injured knee. Murray, however, was able to beat him in the first and third sets to take the tournament outright. What about that knee injury? Well, it appears that he hurt himself at the beginning of the second set but wasn’t really able to serve during the third set due to the injury. He’s hoping that the injury doesn’t hold him back for any more time this season and it will be interesting to watch. For his part, Murray was impressed that Nadal put on such a fight despite a knee problem.

The Open GDF Suez is well underway, with the quarterfinals just coming up. In this bunch of people, we can see Serena Williams, Jankovic and Dementieva. Seeing these three in this part of the tournament isn’t much of a surprise, I must say, since they are three of the best players in the world right now. It’s kind of surprising to me, though, that they just kept playing after the Australian Open, which Serena won. It seems like one would need a week or two to get the energy back from that kind of thing. However, here we are and they are playing well. This isn’t going to be a major clash of the Titans, but it is going to be a good competition, between several impressive players.

The tennis world is still talking about Roger Federer’s emotional implosion after the Australian Open. There is an interviewer who asked a Tennis psychologist about his emotion. The specialist said that it’s probably not an issue of Federer being stuck up or melodramatic. He’s a decently humble guy who doesn’t put people down or anything like that. He’s competitive and has set himself high goals, in particular to beat out the Sampras record of 13 grand slam titles. But after several losses in a row, he hasn’t really been able to take that one all the way quite yet. It’s kind of sad, because he is getting a bit older, but he’s not that old. He has lots of time left, so Rog, don’t get too down on yourself!

So it’s time to take a little moment to reflect on what’s happened to Roger Federer. He’s in a real pickle now. Nadal beat him last weekend in the Australian Open. Nadal seems to be taking a distinct advantage in their rivalry. Is Federer past his prime? He seems to think so, if his breakdown during the ceremony at Sydney is any indication. While they were handing out the awards, he started crying and really couldn’t stop. Nadal has beat him several times in the last few months and especially over the last year or so. It seems like Rog has lost his stride and his confidence. He’s gotta just keep plugging it out, but it’s getting tough for him.

In the Australian Open Finals, Rafael Nadal took out Roger Federer in 5 sets. It seems as though Federer is having trouble matching up now. Yes, he has vowed to come back, but it looks like the younger Nadal is just able to hold out a lot better than Federer has been able to in the last little while. They are both great players, and Federer can still beat lots of the best players. Serena Williams hardly even let Dinara Safina take the court in the women’s final. Williams was just better, had better tactics and tricks ready to go. Safina was gracious and humble in her loss, noting that she had never been in this position before. So next time she might be a little more able. Congrats to the winners!