Rafael Nadal's highly-anticipated return to action ended in defeat at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Friday as Andy Murray advanced to face Andrey Rublev in the final.
Nadal, the defending and record five-time MWTC champion, was playing his first match since ending his 2021 season in August due to a long-term foot problem.
Unsurprisingly, the Spaniard was lacking in match sharpness as Murray, who defeated fellow Briton Dan Evans in the quarter-finals on Thursday, recorded a 6-3, 7-5 victory at Zayed Sports City's International Tennis Centre.
There was still plenty for the Nadal-heavy crowd to cheer, and each time he delivered his trademark one-two punch of a line-grabbing serve followed by a whipping forehand winner, it was met with huge roars.
Murray may also be working his way back from serious injury but the three-time major winner is much further along in his progress, having ended the 2021 season with several back-to-back tournaments, and that gulf in additional match fitness was telling.
There was one break in each set, Murray striking in the sixth game of the first and in the 11th game of the second on his way to victory.
For Nadal, this was simply the next step on his long road to recovery and he will take another when he faces Canadian world No 14 Denis Shapovalov in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
"It was a good comeback in my opinion," Nadal said. "Of course, it's been a long period of time without playing – I’ve only played one match and a half since Roland Garros, and I’m not playing against an easy opponent to start, so it’s difficult.
"I think I did a lot of things well, a lot of things after a long period of time I need to recover; some things when you are in a competition that come automatically, now I have to think more or you don’t have that extra time to choose the right decision. But in general, a positive match."
Their match in Abu Dhabi was the first time Nadal and Murray had shared a court in more than five years, dating back to the 2016 Madrid Masters, which provides an indication of their respective injury issues in recent times. Nadal said he is happy to see Murray back playing well, although he was much more focused on himself, considering the circumstances.
"Honestly, I was not even thinking about tactics or if anything surprised me on court," the Spaniard said. "I was only thinking about my things, the way I want to play.
"As I said yesterday, I didn't come here with big expectations for results. The focus is being on the court, enjoying, trying to play some good tennis, and feel my way back again.
"I see [Murray] playing very well but I couldn’t say if anything surprised me because I know how good is Andy. He is one of the best players I ever saw."
It was another encouraging performance by Murray, who made it plainly clear on the eve of MWTC that he is leaving "no stone unturned" next season in his attempts to return to the top of the game.
"I played a solid match and served well, so I didn’t give him too many opportunities. But it was probably a combination of me playing solid and dictating a lot of the points and him hardly playing for the last five or six months," Murray said. "I know how that feels. I’ve gone almost a year without competing and its hard, and it doesn’t get easier when you’re older.
Looking ahead to the final, Murray said: "Tomorrow will also be important because Rublev is one of the top few players in the world who attacks, so I need to be solid in defence."
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The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
8.15pm: Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
8.50pm: Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
9.25pm: Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections
6.30pm: Final Song
7.05pm: Pocket Dynamo
7.40pm: Dubai Icon
8.15pm: Dubai Legacy
8.50pm: Drafted
9.25pm: Lucius Tiberius
360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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Results
4pm: Maiden (Dirt) Dh165,000 1,600m
Winner: Moshaher, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
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Winner: Heraldic, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Maiden (Turf) Dh165,000 1,600m
Winner: Rua Augusta, Harry Bentley, Ahmad bin Harmash.
5.45pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,200m
Winner: Private’s Cove, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav.
6.20pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 1,600m
Winner: Azmaam, Jim Crowley, Musabah Al Muhairi.
6.55pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,400m
Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
7.30pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 2,000m
Winner: Rio Tigre, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
