Tunisian star Ons Jabeur made an encouraging start at the Australian Open as she defeated Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine in a little over an hour.
The former world No 2 secured a straightforward 6-3, 6-3 win in the first-round clash to set up a match against Camila Osorio in the next round.
Jabeur was in control for much of the match, sending down five aces and converting six of her eight break points.
It was a positive sign for the Tunisian who is slowly working her way back from injuries that ruined much of the season last year.
Jabeur, 30, had to contend with serious knee and shoulder injuries in 2024, which forced her to end the season prematurely, missing the US Open and the Asian swing and dropping to No 42 in the world rankings.
Ahead of the Australian Open, Jabeur said that her main aim for the season was to play as long as possible, and hopefully without any pain.
“I’m playing without pain. I am feeling much better and just taking it one step at a time. Some things take time but I am very positive about the future,” Jabeur had told The National.
“I'm very happy with the preparation that I did, and looking forward to have more matches to play."
While Jabeur had a routine outing in Melbourne, there were fireworks elsewhere.
Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca began his Grand Slam career in spectacular fashion as the qualifier defeated Russian ninth seed Andrey Rublev 7-6, 6-3, 7-6 in the first round.
In his first main draw match at a major, Fonseca, 18, lived up to the hype with a stunning straight sets win in front of a late-night crowd on Margaret Court Arena.
He clinched the opening set with another thundering forehand winner and raised his level even further to cruise through the second set.
Rublev dug deep in the third set and was a break ahead but Fonseca showed incredible maturity to set up another tiebreaker.
The teenager ended the contest at the first opportunity by pounding a forehand beyond his Russian opponent, his 51st winner of the match.
Roared on by Brazilian fans decked out in yellow, Fonseca set up a second-round meeting with Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.
“It's the first time playing in a huge stadium,” Fonseca said.
“There are a lot of Brazilians here cheering for me and I enjoyed every moment, thanks a lot.”
“I mean, not bad, I just enjoyed every moment playing in an amazing court,” Fonseca, who last year won the Next Gen ATP title, added.
Rublev's fellow Russian and 2024 finalist Daniil Medvedev was heavy favourite against Thailand's 418th-ranked Kasidit Samrej.
However, in his first match of the season, fifth seed Medvedev nearly imploded in a fit of anger before finding some measure of calm to eke out a hard-fought win.
“Second and third set I couldn't touch the ball. I didn't know what to do,” Medvedev said after finally winning 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 at the Rod Laver Arena.
The 28-year-old mangled his racquet as he spectacularly lost his cool in the third set, slamming it into the net camera repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Taylor Fritz, veteran Gael Monfils and home hope Alex de Minaur also all progressed into round two at Melbourne Park.
Fourth seed Fritz eased past fellow American Jenson Brooksby 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 to launch his bid for a maiden Grand Slam crown.
“It's never easy playing that first match in a Slam, there are some nerves, so I did a really good job shaking them off early and playing really solid,” said Fritz, who took just one hour and 46 minutes for the win.
France's Monfils battled through a five-set thriller to beat young compatriot Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and continue the 38-year-old's late-career resurgence.
Monfils became the oldest singles champion in ATP Tour history when he swept to victory at the Auckland Classic on Saturday.
In the women's draw, Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina were both emphatic winners on day three, with Emma Navarro and Emma Raducanu also victorious.
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)
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FIGHT%20CARD
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The years Ramadan fell in May
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Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
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
What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
Janet Yellen's Firsts
- In 2014, she became the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve
- In 1999, she became the first female chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers
'Jurassic%20World%20Dominion'
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
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What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
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The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
