London, March 7 -- From the moment a fighter jet flew over Dubai's centre court last Saturday as the players were about to walk on for the final, Britain's Grand Slam doubles champion Henry Patten knew this would be no ordinary week.
The 29-year-old and doubles partner Harri Heliovaara were part of a 40-strong group of players, officials and media who could find no immediate way home after the United Arab Emirates came under attack from Iranian missiles amid the Middle East conflict.
Patten heard explosions from the player hotel during his extended stay in Dubai, and spent 14 hours in a car as he made an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to cross the border from the UAE into Oman. Having finally secured a flight back to London via Cairo and...