Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships saw the two biggest guns on the WTA Tour enter the fray, but while one successfully navigated a tricky first encounter, the other seriously misfired.
World No 1 Iga Switaek and second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka are the two most dominant forces in women's tennis, winning five of the past eight Grand Slam titles between them. Both arrived in Dubai in ominous form, Switaek claiming her first trophy of the season by winning her third straight Qatar Open title and Sabalenka returning to action for the first time since defending her Australian Open crown.
By the end of Day 3 in Dubai, Swiatek maintained her winning run in the Middle East as Sabalenka began to pack her bags for the United States.
As two of the top eight seeds, Swiatek and Sabalenka received byes through to the second round, and neither was handed particularly easy introductions; awaiting Swiatek was former world No 4 and US Open champion Sloane Stephens, while Sabalenka was drawn against Donna Vekic, who had beaten her in five of their seven previous meetings.
Competing in the second match on the stadium court, Sabalenka experienced a monumental collapse. The Belarusian second seed led Croatia's Vekic by a set and a break, only to fall to a 6-7, 6-3, 6-0 defeat.
Two matches later – after Abu Dhabi champion and fourth seed Elena Rybakina scraped past Victoria Azarenka, who retired injured early in the third set – Swiatek battled past Stephens 6-4, 6-4 in a highly competitive contest.
Despite her poor record against Vekic, Sabalenka was still the heavy favourite for this match in Dubai. The world No 2 cruised to her second successive Australian Open title without dropping a set in her most recent outing. In contrast, Vekic arrived in Dubai with a 4-3 win-loss record in 2024. The super-computer that produces pre-match win probabilities sided with Sabalenka at a whopping 88 per cent.
Sabalenka did not lose a single service game at the Australian Open but it took Vekic just two to earn her first break. The Belarusian claimed immediate parity at 2-2 and looked to have assumed control of the match with a second break to lead 5-3, yet was uncharacteristically broken again when serving for the set.
Sabalenka was below her best but did enough to grind out a one-set lead in the tiebreak, and when she broke in the opening game of the second set, most would have expected her to run away with the match. Instead, Vekic first clawed her way back into the contest at 2-2 and then, against expectations, started to dominate.
With the set poised at 3-3, the Croatian won the next three games to level the match, starting a remarkable run of nine straight games to blow away an increasingly error-strewn Sabalenka in two hours and 22 minutes.
"The whole match when I was leading ... I didn't feel like I was up. The level was so bad today from me," Sabalenka, 25, said. "She was serving well and playing well. [My] level wasn't there at all."
Despite the defeat, Sabalenka maintained her positive outlook and will now focus on the immediate future as the WTA Tour next heads to the United States for the Indian Wells and Miami Open 'sunshine double'.
"I'm faking it," Sabalenka said with a laugh. "No, I mean, I've been on tour for a while. I know you can win and you can lose. It's just a matter of how you look at all those losses, what you take from it, and what you going to learn. I'm just trying to stay positive and try to forget this interesting match."
In the first evening match on Tuesday, Swiatek kept alive her bid for the Doha-Dubai double but was pushed close by Stephens. Both players struggled on serve in the opening set, but it was a case of Stephens struggling a little bit more, allowing Swiatek to claim one more break – a fourth – to take a one-set lead.
The second set was the complete opposite as Swiatek and Stephens gave little away on serve, but once again the American wobbled while serving to stay in the match at 4-5. Having saved 10 of 14 break points, world No 41 Stephens gave Swiatek one more on match point, which the Pole took with a winner down the line.
"Sloane played really well, we played many games that went to deuce and had break points, and we couldn't convert so because of that it was a really interesting match," said 22-year-old Swiatek, who reached the Dubai final last year.
Next up for the world No 1 is a tantalising third-round showdown with two-time Dubai champion Elina Svitolina. Their head-to-head is tied at one apiece, with Ukraine's Svitolina winning the most recent encounter at Wimbledon last year.
"We have a lot of respect for each other, we know each other pretty well," Swiatek said of Svitolina. "We played a tough match at Wimbledon and I learned a lot, so I'm just going to learn my lesson and play a bit better."
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm kick-off UAE)
Bayer Leverkusen v Schalke (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Cologne (5.30pm)
Mainz v Arminia Bielefeld (5.30pm)
Augsburg v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Bayern Munich (8.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Freiburg (10.30pm)
Sunday
VfB Stuttgart v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Union Berlin v Hertha Berlin (8pm)
The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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 biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%202-litre%20direct%20injection%20turbo%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%207-speed%20automatic%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20261hp%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20400Nm%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20From%20Dh134%2C999%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Fund-raising tips for start-ups
Develop an innovative business concept
Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors
Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19
Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.)
Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months
Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses
Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business
* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
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
RESULT
Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City: D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')
BIOSAFETY LABS SECURITY LEVELS
Biosafety Level 1
The lowest safety level. These labs work with viruses that are minimal risk to humans.
Hand washing is required on entry and exit and potentially infectious material decontaminated with bleach before thrown away.
Must have a lock. Access limited. Lab does not need to be isolated from other buildings.
Used as teaching spaces.
Study microorganisms such as Staphylococcus which causes food poisoning.
Biosafety Level 2
These labs deal with pathogens that can be harmful to people and the environment such as Hepatitis, HIV and salmonella.
Working in Level 2 requires special training in handling pathogenic agents.
Extra safety and security precautions are taken in addition to those at Level 1
Biosafety Level 3
These labs contain material that can be lethal if inhaled. This includes SARS coronavirus, MERS, and yellow fever.
Significant extra precautions are taken with staff given specific immunisations when dealing with certain diseases.
Infectious material is examined in a biological safety cabinet.
Personnel must wear protective gowns that must be discarded or decontaminated after use.
Strict safety and handling procedures are in place. There must be double entrances to the building and they must contain self-closing doors to reduce risk of pathogen aerosols escaping.
Windows must be sealed. Air from must be filtered before it can be recirculated.
Biosafety Level 4
The highest level for biosafety precautions. Scientist work with highly dangerous diseases that have no vaccine or cure.
All material must be decontaminated.
Personnel must wear a positive pressure suit for protection. On leaving the lab this must pass through decontamination shower before they have a personal shower.
Entry is severely restricted to trained and authorised personnel. All entries are recorded.
Entrance must be via airlocks.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
