Actually I was in Abu Dhabi only a few weeks ago for an exhibition where Andy managed to beat Federer and Nadal. Not a bad start to the year and matched only by the hotel that we stayed in that week….well I say hotel but if I say that the place was actually called The Emirates Palace that would give a better indication of the grandeur of this establishment. I have never seen anything like this before, all marble and gold and the rooms were the size of penthouse apartments. It took exactly 9 minutes to get from my room to breakfast and I almost bought a GPS system to navigate the different wings. The sheer opulence was astounding. Shakira was staying there as well and on new years eve all the players went to see her concert which was a nice way to see in 2009. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to bump into each other but I did hear she was looking for me… or maybe it was the other way round!

Hi all,

A long time between drinks (or blogs in this case) so I better fill you all in on my new role. I started a job with Prince a couple of months ago managing a number of the larger states sales operations here in Australia. It is certainly a challenging role but one that I am thoroughly enjoying and has given me a great insight into what goes on on the other side of the fence.

Things are busy here in Melbourne with the Australian Open. Yet again it has thrown a number of surprises at us as it seems to do each year. Jelena Dokic has won the hearts of all the public here with her seemingly genuine outpour of emotion over her past decisions under the influence of her father. It is truly a great story and she is displaying a brand of tennis which should she continue I am sure will get her back into the top 20 by the end of the year.