World No 3 Aryna Sabalenka dropped out of Wimbledon just hours before her first-round match with Emina Bektas at the All England Club on Monday.
Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka revealed at the weekend that there was a chance she could withdraw due to an continuing shoulder problem that primarily affects her serve.
Sabalenka was set to be second on Court One but cut short her practice on Monday afternoon before organisers confirmed she had been forced to withdraw, with Erika Andreeva handed a place in the main draw as a lucky loser.
“Heart-broken to have to tell you all that I won't be able to play The Championships this year. I tried everything to get myself ready but unfortunately my shoulder is not co-operating,” Sabalenka, a semi-finalist in 2021 and 2023, wrote on social media.
“I pushed myself to the limit in practice today to try my best, but my team explained that playing would only make things much worse. This tournament means so much to me and I promise I'll be back stronger than ever next year.”
On court, ninth seed Maria Sakkari eased into the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 win over qualifier McCartney Kessler of the US on Court 12. The 28-year-old Athenian has never been beyond Round 3 but believes there is an opportunity to improve on that mediocre record this year.
With Sabalenka dropping out and no obvious dominant force on grass courts in the draw, Sakkari said many players will believe they can emulate last year's winner Marketa Vondrousova.
“From my side, it's wide open,” Sakkari said after her win. “So anyone can win. Going into the tournament I think that we could name like 20 or 25 girls that could win the tournament right now. The depth of women's tennis is just very good right now, and everyone is playing good.”
French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini was also a straight-sets victor with the Italian seventh seed securing a 7-5, 6-3 win over Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo, while Ukrainian 18th seed Marta Kostyuk beat Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova 6-3 6-2.
In the men's draw, meanwhile, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was given a sterner than expected test by Estonia's Mark Lajal before eventually securing a 7-6, 7-5, 6-2 win on Centre Court.
The Spaniard, who defeated Novak Djokovic after a five-set-thriller in last year's final, was taken to a tie-break in the opening set on Monday and needed a crucial break in game 11 to seal the second before his 269th-ranked opponent ran out of steam in the third.
Alcaraz is attempting to win back-to-back major titles after triumphing at the French Open last month but came up against a determined player in his first appearance in a Grand Slam main draw.
“Honestly it surprised me a little bit because I haven't seen him playing or practising too much,” said Alcaraz. “He has the level to go up a lot. He is really young, the same age as me, and I am sure I am going to see him more often.
“Stepping on this court, it is the most beautiful court I have played on,” added Alcaraz. “I still get nerves when I play here.
“I practised for 45 minutes on Thursday and it was the first time I was nervous on practice because I was playing on this court.”
Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev is through to the next round with a minimum of fuss after defeating Aleksandar Kovacevic of the US 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Court Two.
“It was a great match, it's never easy the first match,” admitted the Russian, who reached the semi-finals last year before losing to Alcaraz. “There were moments when it wasn't as easy as the score suggests.
“I've still never lost on Court One so hopefully I can play a lot more matches on this court. Last year I said it was unfortunate I had to go to Centre Court for the semis and I lost. So for the moment, I want to play on Court One, enjoy and try to win.
“It is never easy to win in straight sets, especially on grass. He was serving well and I only had one chance and I was lucky to get a winner on a first serve.”
Norwegian eighth seed Casper Ruud is safely through after beating Australian qualifier Alex Bolt 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 while former semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov of Canada knocked out Chilean 19th seed Nicolas Jarry 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.
TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES
June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
June 10: Crusaders 3 Lions 12
June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
June 17: Maori All Blacks 10 Lions 32
June 20: Chiefs 6 Lions 34
June 24: New Zealand 30 Lions 15 (First Test)
June 27: Hurricanes 31 Lions 31
July 1: New Zealand 21 Lions 24 (Second Test)
July 8: New Zealand v Lions (Third Test) - kick-off 11.30am (UAE)
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
UAE squad
Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Letswork%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOmar%20Almheiri%2C%20Hamza%20Khan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20co-working%20spaces%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.1%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20with%20investors%20including%20500%20Global%2C%20The%20Space%2C%20DTEC%20Ventures%20and%20other%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20about%2020%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Klopp at the Kop
Matches 68; Wins 35; Draws 19; Losses 14; Goals For 133; Goals Against 82
- Eighth place in Premier League in 2015/16
- Runners-up in Europa League in 2016
- Runners-up in League Cup in 2016
- Fourth place in Premier League in 2016/17
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
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.
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
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
