Immediately after winning the Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) title on Saturday, Andrey Rublev laughed off suggestions that the "Big Four" might not be quite so big and intimidating anymore.
"Nah, this is a bit of an illusion because they know the real situation," the Russian world No 5 said with a smile. "They are still top, it doesn't matter if they are not playing tennis for one year and their rankings dropped, they know they are the top ones. So, I don't believe this."
The "top ones" to whom Rublev referred are of course four of the giants of men's tennis: multiple Grand Slam champions Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer, and three-time major winner and double Olympic gold medallist Andy Murray.
Given all their accomplishments, Rublev made a fair point, and in the case of Djokovic, the Serb is still literally the "top one" after a season in which he won three of four majors and ended the year at the pinnacle of the rankings for a record seventh season.
Yet, the landscape is markedly different for the other three, two of whom were competing alongside Rublev in Abu Dhabi. While Federer is still a long way off a return - the 40-year-old Swiss admitted in November he expects to be out until at least the middle of next year following a third knee operation in 18 months - there was a huge amount of intrigue surrounding Nadal and Murray at MWTC.
Nadal, 35, has consistently participated at the pre-season exhibition tournament as a means to fine-tune his game against top-level opponents ahead of a new season. With a record five titles in the capital, it has proved a winning formula.
But this year on his 11th appearance, he arrived with "no big expectations" having not played a match since August due to a serious foot injury. Indeed, the foot was so bad, the Spaniard revealed in Abu Dhabi that he played his final tournament of the season, at the Washington Open, in "very bad condition ... it was a disaster". This year, it wasn't so much a case of assessing his game, but assessing his overall health.
Unsurprisingly and understandably, Nadal was rusty on his return to competition, enduring two defeats from his two matches, but the aura that surrounds him and the fire that burns within him remain as powerful as ever.
The 13-time French Open champion garnered the lion's share of the support inside a near-capacity International Tennis Centre stadium on both Friday and Saturday, and despite evidently lacking in match sharpness, he played with his trademark intensity. Even without a match in half a year, Nadal still took Canadian world No 14 Denis Shapovalov to three sets in the third-place playoff.
The question now is just how far Nadal is from a return to the tour. He made it clear that his aim is to make his way Down Under and to compete at the Australian Open next month, but that he "can't guarantee 100 per cent ... I will take it day by day."
While uncertainty surrounds his fitness, there can never be any doubting his drive and commitment.
"I am still playing after the career I've had because I still believe I will be competitive enough to give myself chances for the things I have competed for the last 15 years," Nadal said. "I am not playing for money or for fun - I am playing to keep achieving goals and to enjoy the process to try and achieve my goals. If I don't achieve that’s fine, but the motivation and the passion is still there."
After beating Nadal in Friday's semi-final, Murray empathised with his long-time rival. "I know how that feels," the 34-year-old Briton said when asked for his thoughts on the Spaniard's road to recovery.
Murray does indeed know better than most following the hip injury that almost ended his career at the start of 2019. It has been a long, grinding, often frustrating journey for the former world No 1, who is still ranked outside the top 100, but there was reason for optimism at the end of last season and again at MWTC.
Having entered the off-season after a run of consecutive tournaments and a pair of wins over top-10 opponents, Murray returned to the court in Abu Dhabi to register victories against world No 25 Dan Evans and Nadal, before a closely-fought defeat to Rublev in the final.
"It was a good week for me," Murray said. "I played three matches against completely different styles so that was positive. It was good to see where my body’s at, playing at that sort of intensity.
"I learned quite a lot across the three matches. Certainly some things improved as the week went on, and there are things to work on, but it was good."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Federer's 19 grand slam titles
Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal
French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling
Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic
US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
