Casper Ruud admitted he "surprised" himself by reaching another final this season after beating Andrey Rublev in straight sets to set up a final showdown with Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals in Turin.
Ruud, who will be in Abu Dhabi next month to compete at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, confidently defeated an error-prone Rublev 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday to set up a clash against Novak Djokovic.
The 23-year-old has had a great year, winning three titles and reaching his first Masters 1000 final in the Miami Open, before making it to the finals of Roland Garros and the US Open. He will now be looking to cap it off with victory at the season-ending championship.
"I think I surprised myself for sure," said Ruud, who will finish the year at least world No 3 but has the chance to usurp Rafael Nadal as the world No 2 with victory on Sunday.
"It was a tough start of the year for me because I twisted my ankle in Australia the day before my match in the Australian Open, so I had to pull out. I guess when I was on the plane back home, I did not think I would be sitting here in this position.
"I think when the draw was made here, I guess I was the least favourite to reach the final, compared to all the other great players who I consider are maybe better hard court indoor players than myself."
Djokovic is in the running to win a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title on Sunday, and Ruud, who is 0-3 in head-to-head battles against the Serb, heaped praise on his opponent ahead of their meeting.
"Novak, in a final on an indoor hard court here, is one of the toughest players you can play in the history of our sport," Ruud said.
"I know that I will need to come up with something I have not done yet against him because I haven't been able to beat him. Just try to believe that I can win. It's not going to be easy, obviously, but I will give it a shot, my best shot."
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
RESULT
Deportivo La Coruna 2 Barcelona 4
Deportivo: Perez (39'), Colak (63')
Barcelona: Coutinho (6'), Messi (37', 81', 84')
