Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic renew their rivalry at the French Open, with the Spanish and Serbian greats set to fight for a spot in the semi-final on Tuesday.
The quarter-final clash between Nadal and Djokovic was earmarked as the highlight of this year's major at Roland Garros.
Nadal, who will turn 36 on Friday, puts his record of 109 wins and just three losses in Paris, since his title-winning debut in 2005, on the line against the defending champion.
A big factor in their last-eight encounter will be the match timing. The highly-anticipated match has been scheduled to be played during the controversial night session despite the Spaniard expressing reservations about it.
"I don't like night sessions on clay. I am very clear with that," Nadal had said earlier.
"I don't like to play on clay during the night because humidity is higher, the ball is slower and there can be very heavy conditions especially when it's cold.
"I think that makes a big difference on the way you play tennis on clay during the night and during the day."
It has been a challenge for the Spaniard so far. Nadal was taken to five sets for only the third time in his tournament history by 21-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round. After the win, the Spaniard admitted that not only was this year's French Open at stake for him, but possibly his playing future.
"I know my situation, and I accept it. I can't complain much," said Nadal, who arrived in Paris unsure if he would be able to take part after suffering a recurrence of a chronic foot injury that has plagued him for large parts of his career.
"I am just enjoying the fact that I am here for one more year. And being honest, every match that I play here, I don't know if it's going to be my last at Roland Garros. I went through a tough process again with my foot, so I don't know what can happen in the near future."
Overall, Djokovic leads Nadal 30-28 since their first meeting at the 2006 French Open. Nadal has a 19-8 edge on clay and has won seven of the pair's nine meetings in Paris.
Djokovic, however, came out on top in the semi-finals at Roland Garros in 2021 on his way to a second title.
That defeat took a physical toll on Nadal, who then skipped Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open.
Djokovic has reached the last-eight with ease. He has won 22 sets in a row, a run stretching back to his Italian Open triumph in Rome.
"I'm glad that I didn't spend too much time on the court up to the quarter-finals, knowing that playing Nadal in Roland Garros is always a physical battle. It's a huge challenge and probably the biggest one that you can have here," said Djokovic.
The Serbian hinted he was not too unhappy with the late-night match.
"I can only say that Rafa and I would make different applications," he said. "As top players, we do have requests, but those requests are not always accepted.
Meanwhile, teenager Holger Rune became the first Danish man to reach the French Open quarter-finals on Monday when he stunned world number four and 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Rune, just 19 and ranked 40th in the world, sealed a memorable 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win on the back of 54 winners and will face Norway's eighth seed Casper Ruud for a place in the semi-finals.
"I have an unbelievable feeling. I was so nervous in the end," said a beaming Rune. "I was very nervous. I told myself to keep at it and play my plan. I mean it is so great to still be here."
In the women's draw, Veronika Kudermetova reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Madison Keys, ending the chances of four American women reaching the last eight at the French Open for the first time in two decades.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes (PA) Group 3 Dh175,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Aatebat Al Khalediah, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer).
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Dubai Avenue, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: My Catch, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile (TB) Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Golden Goal, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
