Three recently crowned Grand Slam champions will make their way through Ben-Gurion International Airport today after they flew out of Australia yesterday. Two of them, Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich, earned themselves a festive homecoming by capturing the men's doubles title at the 2008 Australian Open.
There is no question that this appeared to be the best weekend of their lives. After winning Saturday's final, Ram and Erlich attended a concert by the reunited Police at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and then headed to a neighborhood pub, spending the rest of the night drinking freely. The duo's cellular phones received endless calls and SMS messages congratulating them on their historic Grand Slam victory.
Yesterday, the party moved to the air as Ram and Erlich boarded a flight to Bangkok along with Maria Sharapova, and from there they headed toward Tel Aviv.
This morning, Ram, Erlich and Sharapova will land in Israel. While the two Israelis will bear the full brunt of the Israeli media at a festive ceremony organized by the Israel Tennis Association, the Australian Open women's singles champion will be whisked away through a side exit into a VIP taxi that will bring her to the Daniel Hotel in Herzliya, where Russia's Fed Cup team is staying ahead of its World Group tie against Israel on Saturday and Sunday.
Shahar Peer, who is scheduled to face Sharapova in the Fed Cup on Sunday, was already in Israel yesterday.
"This will be the first time I play an official match in Israel, and it has been on my mind since Friday," she said. "Sharapova is in excellent shape right now; I have never seen her play at this level before. I hope that the Israelis will drive her a little crazy, because this is the first time she is playing with her national team.
"We have nothing to lose, not in the first match and not in the second match. I hope to handle the pressure, because I am not used to playing in a full stadium at home. We are going in as the underdog and we will give it our all."
