'Not my fault.' Peer (archives)
צילום: AP
Peer shrugs off protest, security scare in New Zealand
Number of people protest against Israel's treatment of Palestinians outside Auckland Tennis Center before Israeli tennis player's match; venue evacuated due to unattended bag. 'It's a shame that somebody thinks it's my fault that there are problems in the world,' she says after win
Israeli tennis star Shahar Peer shrugged off a protest at her presence and a security scare that forced the evacuation of the venue to advance to the second round of the Auckland Classic on Tuesday.
A small group of people carrying placards and chanting against Israel's treatment of Palestinians mingled outside the Auckland Tennis Center before Peer took to Court Four for her first round match against Slovenia's Polona Hercog.
Prior to play starting, however, an unattended bag by a spectator provoked a full-blown security scare forcing the evacuation of the venue before police and security staff discovered there was no threat.
Police later said there was no link between the protest and the security scare.
Peer, who faced similar protests at last year's tournament, wasted little time in advancing to the second round with a 7-5 6-3 victory over Hercog and said while she had seen the protest when she arrived, would not be dissuaded.
"As you can see, I've come back again. I really like this tournament," she told reporters. "It's a shame that somebody thinks it's my fault that there are problems in the world.
"For me, the most important thing was that even though I was hearing those things, which were not nice, I still won."
The Israeli, however, was not so fortunate in her first round doubles match later when she and partner Edina Gallovits lost to third seeded Italians Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone 7-5 2-6 10-3.
'I felt I let the fans down'
Second seed Li Na of China became the highest seeded casualty when she was thrashed 6-1 6-3 in just 66 minutes by the hard hitting Kaia Kanepi of Estonia. "Everyone can see she had a huge serve and on her service game I could do nothing," the world number 15 said. "Also she hit so hard, I couldn't control the point."
Fourth seed Schiavone, who was first up on centre court when players were allowed back into the venue after the evacuation, was barely troubled by France's Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-2 6-3.
India's Sania Mirza, however, battled to overcome Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele 5-7 6-1 7-5 in just under two hours.
Local favourite Marina Erakovic, returning to the game after an 11-month injury break, was bundled out 6-4 6-3 by France's Alize Cornet, ending New Zealand's involvement in the tournament.
"I felt I did let (the fans) down," Erakovic said. "When you are at home, you want to play well and when you don't, it sucks."
Russia's Maria Kirilenko, who had an injury-blighted 2009 and has slipped down to a world ranking of 62, looked to be returning to the form that took her into the top 20 in 2008 in her 6-2 6-3 demolition of Germany's Tatjana Malek in the late match.
