DUBAI, Feb 22: Venus Williams raced to her 40th career crown on Saturday, but ensured that the raging Shahar Peer controversy was not forgotten during her Dubai Open title celebrations.Williams eased past France’s Virginie Razzano 6-4, 6-2 to win the title. She was clearly the superior player and never let Razzano take control of things in front of a packed house.

Later, at the prize ceremony, Williams said that it was “a shame that one of our players couldn’t be here” in a direct reference to the United Arab Emirates’widely-condemned decision to refuse to grant Israeli player Peer a visa.“I thought she had to be mentioned and I felt I was going to, whether anyone else did or not,” said Wimbledon champion Williams, when it was remarked that she was the only one at the prize-giving ceremony to recall what had happened. “My dad grew up in a place where if you spoke too much, it was your life. I had a small opportunity to say something where everyone would listen.”

The Dubai-event organisers were hit with a record 300,000-dollar fine over the Peer affair and told to post a two-million-dollar guarantee to ensure various conditions of entry were met for the 2010 tournament.

But despite the women’s tournament ending on Saturday, there was no sign of the controversy disappearing.

Dubai Open tournament director Salah Tahlak said that there were doubts over whether or not an apology would be made to 21-year-old Peer. “We would not say we are sorry. We have done our best. It is not our responsibility to issue a visa. It is other departments’ responsibility,” said Tahlak.

“We should not mix politics with sport. We are purely sport. We have done a lot for tennis in the region.”

Commenting on his statement on Tuesday that Peer’s visa had been denied for security reasons, he said: “Whatever reason was given last week, we had our reasons. Maybe then it was still fresh what happened in Gaza and we made that very clear in the statement.”—AFP

Roddick and Stepanek advance, Azarenka triumphs

MEMPHIS: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus claimed her second title of the season Saturday as Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek booked a final showdown at this 1.22million-dollar ATP and WTA hardcourt tournament.

Second-seeded Azarenka swept past top-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki 6-1, 6-3 to add the Memphis crown to the first career title she won in Brisbane last month.

The 19-year-old had reached four finals over her previous two seasons but didn’t break through until the Australian Open tuneup.

After a disappointing showing in the Australian Open, where she retired from her fourth-round match against eventual champion Serena Williams due to heat-related issues, Azarenka rebounded here.

She didn’t drop a set in her first three matches this week before needing three to beat sixth seed Sabine Lisicki in the semi-finals.

Wozniacki, 18, was looking for her fourth career title in her first final of the year.

In the men’s semi-finals, US top seed Andy Roddick rallied to beat Australian Lleyton Hewitt 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in a showdown of former world number ones.

Roddick, who blasted half his 16 aces in the second set and six more in the third, advanced to Sunday’s final for a 300,000-dollar top prize against Czech fifth seed Radek Stepanek, who eliminated Israeli qualifier Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-1.

Sixth-ranked Roddick, the 2002 Memphis winner, is 4-1 against Stepanek and improved to 4-6 against Hewitt with his third consecutive victory in the rivalry. They had not faced each other since 2006.

Roddick, seeking his 27th career title, has reached at least the semi-finals at all four events he has played in 2009 but has yet to claim a crown.

Stepanek, ranked 21st, won last week’s ATP event in San Jose and has not lost a set this week. He ousted Sela in 58 minutes, never facing a break point in improving to 16-2 this season, the best start of the 30-year-old’s career.

Results: Men semi-finals: Radek Stepanek (CZE x5) bt Dudi Sela (ISR) 6-3, 6; Andy Roddick (USA x1) bt Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4. Women final: Victoria Azarenka (BLR x2) bt Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x1) 6-1, 6-3. —AFP

Tsonga wins Marseille Open

MARSEILLE: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga claimed his second ATP title of the year when he won the Marseille Open with a 7-5 7-6 defeat of fellow Frenchman Michael Llodra in Sunday’s final.

Fourth-seeded Tsonga, who won the South African Open two weeks ago, kept his cool under Llodra’s pressure at the net to seal victory in one hour 43 minutes.

Tsonga, who now has four ATP titles under his belt, broke decisively in the 11th game to snatch the opening set.

The second set went with serve and world number 12 Tsonga took the resulting tiebreak 7-3, ending the match with his 11th ace on his first match-point.—AFP