Top seed Iga Swiatek produced a dazzling display to thrash Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2, 6-0 on Wednesday and seal her place in round three of Wimbledon.
The Pole started a little slowly and dropped serve early having broken her opponent, but then moved through the gears.
Once Swiatek found her range with her lethal forehand, the four-time Grand Slam champion was unstoppable as she cruised into the next round in one hour and nine minutes.
“It's my first match on Centre Court I really wanted to keep my focus,” said the 22-year-old. “I'm happy I could play such a solid game and convert what I was practicing.
“I feel confident and happy which doesn't happen often at Wimbledon. I learnt a lot and I can adjust my game now to grass courts. I'm getting there for sure.
“I always feel like every year will give me more experience. I have played well here in juniors. In the future it could be my tournament.
“Every year it will be easier to play here. I feel really confident which is great.”
Due to the bad weather, the first game of day three at the All England Club did not finish until just after 3pm (UK time) when 11th seed Daria Kasatkina swept past home hope Jodie Burrage.
The 24-year-old Briton, making her Centre Court debut, looked nervous and lost the first set in 19 minutes, before she finally got herself on the scoreboard with some attacking net play in the second set.
The players were then ushered off court due to rain but that was only delaying the inevitable and Kastikina completed a 6-0, 6-2 rout in exactly one hour.
The Russian found herself in the third round before many first-round matches had been completed because of heavy rain that washed out nearly 70 games on Tuesday.
“To be honest it was much more difficult because I am playing a girl from here, everyone is supporting her and I'm nervous as well playing in the best court in the world, said Kasatkina.
“It's a special moment. I felt the electricity inside. It was difficult to handle it but I am happy how I was able to do it.
“The atmosphere on this court is something else. The grass is different on Centre Court than the other courts and I didn't hit on the stadium so it was a little bit tricky at the beginning.”
Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk fought back after being handed a bagel in the opening set to beat Greek eighth seed Maria Sakkari 0-6, 7-5 6-2, and reach the second round.
In the men's draw, third seed Daniil Medvedev came through his first-round match thanks to a 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 victory of British wild card Arthur Fery on Court One.
The Russian, who missed last year's event after tournament organisers banned all players from his country – and Belarus – over the invasion of Ukraine, did not have it all his own way against a player ranked 391st in the world.
Fery took 12 games off the former world No 1 one, breaking Medvedev's serve on a couple of occasions with the 20-year-old showing plenty of promise in what was only his fourth match against a top 100 opponent.
“I was pretty nervous, I didn't get to play yesterday so really happy to be back,” Medvedev said in a courtside interview.
“Thank you for the nice welcome, especially against Arthur. It was amazing as I didn't know what reception I would get and it was unbelievable.
“I'm not loved everywhere for who I am, sometimes I get crazy on the court, but I am going to be loving my time here and I hope I prolong it.”
On Court Three, American 10th seed Frances Tiafoe wrapped up a straight-sets victory over China's Wu Yibing, winning 7-6, 6-3, 6-4, to move into Round 2.
Grigor Dimitrov strolled into the second round thanks to a straight-sets victory over Japan's Sho Shimabukuro that saw the 21st seed drop only four games.
The Bulgarian won 6-1, 6-2 6-1 in a match that was interrupted by two Just Stop Oil protesters who threw orange-coloured confetti and jigsaw pieces on to Court 18.
The environmental protest group has targeted various sporting events including the recent second Ashes cricket Test at Lord's, which saw England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow carry one of the protesters off the pitch.
Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EThree%20Centuries%20of%20Travel%20Writing%20by%20Muslim%20Women%3C%2Fem%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEditors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiobhan%20Lambert-Hurley%2C%20Daniel%20Majchrowicz%2C%20Sunil%20Sharma%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EIndiana%20University%20Press%3B%20532%20pages%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
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)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The years Ramadan fell in May
The years Ramadan fell in May
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA
Price, base / as tested Dh150,900 / Dh173,600
Engine 2.0L inline four-cylinder
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 211hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 1,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
