It was a day of mixed fortunes for former Dubai champions at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Wednesday as Belinda Bencic booked her place in the quarter-finals but Jelena Ostapenko was sent crashing out.
Bencic, who won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in 2019 and is seeded second this week, kept alive her bid for a UAE double with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in the first match of the evening session.
However, defending Dubai champion Ostapenko was defeated by China's Qinwen Zheng in the first match of the day on Stadium Court, the highly-rated 20-year-old claiming a 7-6, 6-1 win.
Having received a bye into the second round, Bencic faced a tricky opponent in Kostyuk and the first set developed into a close battle, with neither player wavering on serve. That was until Bencic created two break point chances in the seventh game, taking the second to lead 4-3. Two solid service holds later, she had claimed the opening set.
Bencic took immediate charge of the second set with a break for a 2-0 lead but Kostyuk clawed her way back into the contest, first breaking to level at 2-2 and again for 5-3, giving herself a chance to serve for the set and level the match. Bencic quickly rediscovered her level, though, to reel off four straight games to take the win.
"I thought it was a really good level. It was a good first match to get into the tournament," Olympic champion Bencic, 25, said. "I was expecting a tough match against Marta, so I was happy with how things went."
On receiving a bye to the second round, Bencic added: "It's an advantage but not really because you might need a first round to get into the tournament and you face a player who's already played a match. It can be a plus and a minus."
At the opposite end of the draw, Zheng demonstrated why she is one of the most exciting young talents on the WTA Tour after an impressive win over Ostapenko.
Zheng, 20, took a marathon first set following a 22-point tiebreak, before easing through the second to claim a 7-6, 6-1 victory. The Chinese world No 29 will face either Russian top seed Daria Kasatkina or Switzerland's Jil Teichmann in the quarter-finals.
It was Zheng's second win over Ostapenko in as many meetings, having beaten the former French Open champion at the US Open last year.
"[Ostapenko] plays really aggressive and fast but at the same time I knew that if I stay there she will lose patience," Zheng said. "She's can beat anyone and to beat her you have to run a lot. I'm happy because I did what I had to do to get the win."
Veronika Kudermetova, who like Bencic received a bye, opened her campaign with a straight-sets win over Belgium's Elise Mertens as the Russian fourth seed aims to go one better than her last visit to Abu Dhabi.
Kudermetova reached the final of the Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open in January 2021 and returned to the court with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over former world No 12 Mertens.
"It was a very good performance from me," said Kudermetova, who will play either eighth-seeded compatriot Liudmila Samsonova or Czech Barbora Krejcikova in the quarter-finals. "I always like to play in the Middle East and I'm super happy to be back here."
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
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)
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
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CHINESE GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID
1st row
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2nd row
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
3rd row
Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing)
4th row
Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
Sergio Perez (Force India)
5th row
Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault)
Romain Grosjean (Haas)
6th row
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Esteban Ocon (Force India)
7th row
Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
8th row
Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
9th row
Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
Lance Stroll (Williams)
10th row
Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
arcus Ericsson (Sauber)
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
