Tennis: Young, tough and unfazed by protesters

Shahar Peer's speed across the court and blistering backhand have impressed the crowds in Auckland. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Her presence at the ASB Classic may not please everyone, but Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer is quite chuffed with how things are turning out at the Auckland tournament.

While outside the stadium a small handful of demonstrators have been noisily protesting against Peer's presence at the tournament, the 22-year-old has been quietly going about her business on court.

Seemingly oblivious to all the commotion as a result of her appearance, the young Israeli blitzed her way into the quarter-finals with straight-sets victories in the opening two rounds.

Aside from a slight hiccup in the second set, Peer was equally as dominant in the yesterday's quarter-final match-up with Russian Maria Kirilenko.

Her 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 win over Kirilenko booked her a place in the semifinals of the Auckland tournament for the first time, where she will meet Belgian Yanina Wickmayer.

So Peer will be back again today, and, more than likely, so too the protesters. But, given she has coped with the distractions so well up until this point, the world No 31 remains unfazed by that prospect.

In fact, she is beginning to wonder if the demonstrators may be her lucky charm. Despite the unwelcome attention she has attracted, 2010 is turning out to be Peer's most successful visit to Auckland in four previous appearances.

Peer admits the presence of the protesters make her even more motivated to do well.

"It does make me play better, yesterday I was playing very good and today the first set [before the protesters dispersed] I was playing good, so as long as I am doing my job it is fine," said Peer.

It is rare to see such mental toughness is a player so young, but Peer believes growing up in Israel has made her more resilient.

"Maybe where I come from makes me more tough."

The 22-year-old from Macabim has been playing tennis since she was 7 years old, training three times a day since she was 10. At the age of 18 she joined the Israeli Army, and completed her mandatory two years service in 2007.

This has seen her singled out by the protesters.

While it looks as if Peer is undeterred by what is going on outside the stadium when she is putting her opponents away, the reality is she very much aware of what the protesters are saying.

She doesn't understand all of it, but she gets the gist. "It's not easy to hear someone shouting your name and asking you to go away and withdraw from the tournament. It is very hard emotionally, but I'm trying to avoid it and trying to concentrate on my tennis and what I know how to do best."

What she does best is make life extremely tough on her opponents. Peer's speed across the court (her mother Aliza was a champion sprinter), aggressive counter-puncher style and blistering backhand have wowed the crowds in Auckland.

Her strong form follows on from an impressive run in the latter stages of last year, when she picked up two titles in successive weeks without dropping a set in either.

The first title, the fourth of her career, came at Guangahou in China, where she beat Italian Alberta Brianti in the final. She then travelled to Central Asia where she triumphed in Tashkent.

It was a promising finish to an otherwise disappointing year for Peer, who saw her ranking slip to 67 in mid-2009 after a string of setbacks.

Following on from the highly-publicised protests in Auckland last year, Peer was denied an entry visa in to the United Arab Emirates to compete in a lucrative Dubai tournament. A foot injury then kept the Israeli out of action for three months.

"I had some troubles last year with the war in Israel and the protest here and the Dubai situation and then I had a stress fracture in my foot. So I didn't really play consistently last year. But then when I did come back I played really well and things shifted and I had really good results.

"I'm very happy with the way I finished the year and hopefully I can carry this momentum through."

Her late-season flurry saw Peer's ranking recover to 31 at the end of last year, and the 22-year-old is determined to break back into the top 20 this year.

The UAE has said she will be welcome to play there this year.

Peer reached a career-high ranking of 15 in 2007 after making the quarter-finals of both the Australian Open and the US Open, and she is confident she can get back there.

She said she now feels she has the game to challenge top-10 players. "I have been challenging them and I know I'm playing better and more aggressive and more dominating on the court so if I keep going like this maybe I can be one of them also," she said.

Her immediate focus though is performing well in Auckland, where she is hopeful of claiming her sixth career title.

Only then will she gladly oblige the protesters wishes for her to "go home".