The first week of the Aussie Open is close to rounding up and the tennis circus is in full swing. So many stories, so little time. We’ll try to hit a couple topics from the last few days.

Ljubicic Resignation

Much has been written about player board rep Ivan Ljubicic's departure from the ATP board earlier this week. Some reports suggested the Croat’s decision stemmed from heavy criticism he took at last weekend’s players’ meeting. But Ljubicic told me it was not a rash decision. 

“You can ask Roger and the guys on council,” he said. “A month ago I spoke with them” about resigning. Ljubicic, who became a father in the fall and was injured for much of his 7-month stint, said the ATP position had become his third priority and the “guys don’t deserve that.”

“If you want to play tennis and spend time with your family, I realized it’s a little too much,” said the Croat, whose ranking fell from No. 18 to No. 45 last year. He also felt the timing was right with Adam Helfant now in place as the new executive chairman of the men's tour.

Ljubicic’s seat should be filled in the next 2-4 weeks (his term runs through the end of this year). In July, another vote for the European seat will take place for the two-year term that begins in 2010. I asked him who he thought would a good candidate, and he mentioned Federer (who declined) as well as recently retired Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and former top-5 player Tim Henman of England.

I also spoke to Guillermo Canas, who denied he walked out of the players' meeting (as some outlets reported) over the new whereabouts anti-doping rule that requires players to inform officials of their location at least one hour 365 days a year. Canas said he got up and spoke at the meeting about the distribution of points and prize money.

Ram Discusses Dubai

Following his second round loss with partner Max Mirnyi, Israel’s Andy Ram told me he still is interested in trying to play in Dubai. Last year, Ram and fellow Israeli Jonathan Erlich, who won the 2008 Australian Open, mysteriously pulled out of the event at the last minute.

Ram said he wants to go not for a political statement but because the Persian Gulf tournament is now a “500” event with more money and ranking points. “For me, going there would be like going to another tournament,” said Ram, who with Erlich would have been the first male Israeli athletes to compete in the region. “Maybe I’m too naïve. Maybe I’m too much of a tennis player.”

Whether he will try again is unclear. Ram said he hadn’t sorted out his schedule for February so soon after a loss, and wasn’t even sure that he would continue to team with Mirnyi. With tensions in the region rising following Israel’s invasion of Gaza, the timing could be poor.

Even now, Ram says he’s not sure what happened last year. All he knows is that the letter of assurance he needed to travel there did not arrive, and ultimately, he and Erlich did not take a plane to find out if they would be allowed to enter. “We didn’t do everything we could to go,” he said. “It’s (up) in the air.”

If the Uruguay-born Ram travels to Dubai, it will not be with Erlich, who had surgery on his elbow and won’t be back in time for the Feb. 23 start. Ram hinted that Shahar Peer, who became the first female Israeli to play in the Middle East when she entered the WTA event in Doha last year, might beat him to the punch; the women’s event in Dubai precedes the men’s by a week. “I’m sending Shahar before just to make sure,” he joked.

Meantime….

As usual, I’ve been writing for USA Today here in Melbourne. Earlier this week, I did a piece on one-finals wonders Down Under and a story on the uncomfortable growth of the four majors, which, in light of Friday’s melee between Bosnian and Serb fans, is something to keep an eye on.

You can also catch me on Tennis.com. The subject of that story, Fernando Verdasco, absolutely crushed Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-0, 6-0 Saturday.