The US Open turned over Arthur Ashe Stadium to the Williams sisters on Thursday for a prime-time first round doubles match that could have been Serena's last after the pair fell 7-6 , 6-4 to the Czech duo of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova.
Winners of 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, including two US Opens, the Williams sisters were playing together for the first time in more than four years, the occasion attracting a capacity crowd to watch one of tennis's most successful partnerships take perhaps a final bow.
If it was indeed the last time the Williams sisters would stand shoulder-to-shoulder on court, the end came with little sentiment or emotion. The two greats embraced briefly at the net then stoically packed their bags, exited to a standing ovation and offered only a gentle wave to the cheering crowd.
"I'm so sorry for you that we beat them, but we are so happy that we did it," apologised Hradecka to the crowd after the match. "I'm still in shock."
Serena signalled her intention to retire in a Vogue article in early August, saying she was "evolving away from tennis" but never confirming the US Open as her final event.
Flushing Meadows, however, has not seen the last of Serena just yet, with the 40-year-old back in action on Arthur Ashe on Friday for an eagerly anticipated third round singles clash with Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic.
The prime-time doubles match reminded tennis once again of the immense popularity of the Williams sisters and the absolute hold they have on the sport.
Doubles are seldom seen during the early rounds on Arthur Ashe, usually banished to the outside courts until the men's and women's, or mixed doubles finals when they are brought in as opening acts for the main events.
Even then those Grand Slam championship contests are played in a mostly empty stadium to entertain early arrivals for the men's and women's finals.
But on Thursday the world's biggest tennis stadium was packed to the rafters with Venus and Serena joining forces for their first U.S. Open since 2014.
With the exception of perhaps Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal - if they were to form a doubles partnership - it is doubtful any other players could cause the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to consider turning over the prime-time evening slot to a doubles match.
"You have Venus and Serena playing for first time here in eight years there's a demand to see that," USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier told Reuters about the decision to put doubles on the main show court. "There's also the fans that aren't here, they want to see that on television.
"To us it was the obvious thing to do."
Tomorrow 2021
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KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Healthcare spending to double to $2.2 trillion rupees
Launched a 641billion-rupee federal health scheme
Allotted 200 billion rupees for the recapitalisation of state-run banks
Around 1.75 trillion rupees allotted for privatisation and stake sales in state-owned assets
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Towering concerns
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
The national orchestra
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Paltan
Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios
Director: JP Dutta
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane
Rating: 2/5
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HEADLINE HERE
- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
- And then copy into this box
- It can be as long as you link
- But I recommend you use the bullet point function (see red square)
- Or try to keep the word count down
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- That's about it
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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if you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals (more at www.hertz.com/etihad). A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Greatest of All Time
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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ENGLAND%20SQUAD
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
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