Dubai 2008
"Arabesque and Disneyesque, Dubai is the fastest growing city in the world. Dubai today is flashy, fun and slightly surreal." Those are the opening words of the Lonely Planet Guide to the city.
It would be interesting to know if Rafa would agree with that second statement. They certainly pushed the boat out to entertain him (and us it has to be admitted). He was given two luxury suites in the Burj al Arab hotel, the world's first seven star hotel, and someone was assigned to cater to his every whim - just how do you get these jobs? "The whole location of it is unbelievable, when you arrive at the hotel it's really impressive, and it's spectacular inside too," is what he had to say about the place. Of course there was the glossy players party. This one gave Rafa the chance to get up close and personal with a fabulous falcon.
As usual in Dubai Rafa was taken out for photo opportunities at a Dubai landmark. This year he was given a guided tour up the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest free-standing structure and building. Since this is still under construction he had to wear a hard hat for the duration of the visit. This gave rise to many a VB fantasy along the lines of the old Diet Coke ads. He would make a great poster boy for a construction company. "I was a little scared when I was in the lift but from the top it was unbelievable. I was reassured to learn the lift will be on the inside when it is completed!" was his comment afterwards.
But what of the tennis? Well, as ever, we had faith and our hopes were high but Rafa's own comments before the tournament let us know he wasn't all that confident. "It is amazing. You have the top seven or eight players there. It is probably more difficult than a grand slam to win since we play in only six days. Looking at the field here, one can safely say that this is one of the tougher draws on the tour. The surface is fast here and it is going to be tough for those playing in the lower half of the draw," he said.
And tough it did prove. He did well to grind out a win against Kohlschreiber who is having a good hard court season. His second match was much less of an issue and his hard court confidence was returning. However in the quarter finals he had to come up against an Andy Roddick who was channeling Tsonga and playing the best tennis he has shown since 2004. At least Roddick had the decency to go on and win the whole thing.
Oh well. The good news is that he has defended his points from last year.
He added a few doubles rankings points as well by winning his first round match with Feli.
We all hope that he enjoyed the glamour of Dubai and will have fond memories of his experiences there.