World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka started her quest for a third Australian Open crown in a row with a straight-sets victory over Sloane Stephens at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
Heavy rain washed out much of the opening day meaning that only the matches scheduled on Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena – all of which have a roof – could be played.
Eight of the 32 scheduled singles matches were scratched and organisers will be giving thanks for the cushion of the extra day that was first added to the tournament last year.
Sabalenka survived an early wobble to beat Stephens 6-3, 6-2 as the Belarusian looks to become the first player since Martina Hingis in 1999 to secure the three-peat at the season-opening Grand Slam.
She will join a select group of women consisting of only Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Hingis to do so.
Sabalenka raced into a 4-0 lead before a series of unforced errors allowed the 31-year-old American to break back twice for 4-3.
The lapses fired up Sabalenka who changed her racquet and became more aggressive.
She created a succession of break points before finally converting on the fifth to move 5-3 ahead and then served out to take the set in 38 minutes.
Stephens, now ranked 84th, has a poor record in Melbourne, losing in the first round on four of her previous five appearances.
A double break took Sabalenka to 5-1 in the second set and she completed the win in 1hr 11 min, meaning she has now won 28 of her last 29 matches in hard court Slams since the start of 2023, including 15 consecutive matches at the Australian Open.
“I'm super happy to be back. I love this place and we have a full stadium, I couldn't dream for more,” said Sabalenka, who will take on Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the next round.
“It was a tough match. They are always tough matches against her. I don't feel like I played my best probably but I'm glad that I managed to close this match in straight sets.
“It definitely feels like home.”
Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen, who lost to Sabalenka in last year's final, started her tournament with a 7-6, 6-1 victory over Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni.
Zheng looked in complete control serving for the set at 5-4 and leading 40-0 only for Todoni to win five points in a row.
The Romanian then held three set points with Zheng serving at 5-6 but could not take any of them and things were comfortable for the fifth seed thereafter.
“The first match is always not easy,” said Zheng in her on-court interview. “She's playing really good but I was doing a bit stupid mistakes at 5-4, 40-0, I don't know what happened there.”
Teenager Mirra Andreeva could be a factor come the latter stages of the tournament and she began strongly with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Marie Bouzkova.
The 17-year-old reached the French Open semi-finals last year, a run that included victory over Sabalenka in the last eight at Roland Garros.
In the men's draw, Hady Habib's history-making run at the Australian Open will continue after the first man to represent Lebanon in a Grand Slam singles tournament in the Open era became the first to win a match.
The 26-year-old Habib won three matches in the qualifying rounds just to get into the field of 128 players and he will now be one of the 64 to make it into the second round after defeating Bu Yunchaokete of China 7-6, 6-4, 7-6.
Habib, the world No 219, soaked up wild cheers from a rowdy crowd packing the small terraces on Melbourne Park's Court 13.
With fans chanting his name, the Texas-born 26-year-old raised his racquet to the crowd and held up a Lebanese flag after claiming the decisive tiebreak.
He represented his country at the Paris Olympics last year, losing to four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz in the first round.
"It's a huge win," said Habib. "Especially what we've been going through as a country.
"To bring something positive, especially we've been having a rough time with obviously the war.
"We had our other issues in the past. It's just nice to get this win for Lebanon and for the people."
Germany's Alexander Zverev eased past Lucas Pouille of France in straight sets.
The second seed impressed as he triumphed 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 and will now face Pedro Martinez in the second round.
Sixth seed Casper Ruud eventually sealed his spot in the next round after overcoming Spain's Jaume Munar 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.
Kei Nishikori also come through a five-setter as he fought back from two sets down and saved two match points on the way to beating qualifier Thiago Monteiro 4-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.
THE%20SPECS
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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Price, base / as tested From Dh173,775 (base model)
Engine 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo, AWD
Power 249hp at 5,500rpm
Torque 365Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Gearbox Nine-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined 7.9L/100km
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
HOW DO SIM CARD SCAMS WORK?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
TRAINING FOR TOKYO
A typical week's training for Sebastian, who is competing at the ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon on March 8-9:
- Four swim sessions (14km)
- Three bike sessions (200km)
- Four run sessions (45km)
- Two strength and conditioning session (two hours)
- One session therapy session at DISC Dubai
- Two-three hours of stretching and self-maintenance of the body
ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon
For more information go to www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.
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Scorline
Iraq 1-0 UAE
Iraq Hussein 28’
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
