Novak Djokovic set up a blockbuster clash with Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarter-finals after he defeated Czech 24th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 on Sunday.
After a challenging start, Djokovic upped his game in his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam crown and 11th at Melbourne Park.
"Thank you very much for being here tonight. I appreciate your presence and the support. I'll see you in the next round. Thank you very much," Djokovic said in a short post-match speech.
A solitary break in the eighth game was all Djokovic needed to take the opening set. The 37-year-old Serb looked in total control despite playing well within himself at a packed Rod Laver Arena.
Seventh seed Djokovic attacked Lehecka's serve early in the next set and doubled his advantage in the match as the Czech, 23, was left with a mountain to climb.
A rejuvenated Lehecka recovered after dropping serve again and stayed in the fight to frustrate Djokovic in the third set, but there was only going to be one winner when the Serb went ahead 4-2 in the tiebreak.
Djokovic comfortably closed out the win to equal his now retired rival Roger Federer's all-time record of 15 appearances in the last-eight stage of the Melbourne Park major.
After the match, Djokovic revealed the reason for his tense on-court behaviour where he refused to speak to the host broadcaster at length.
The Serbian took aim at official broadcaster Channel Nine, whose reporter Tony Jones had mocked him and his fans when they were cheering two days earlier.
"Novak he's over-rated, Novak's a has-been. Novak kick him out. Oh, I'm glad they can't hear me," Jones had said.
Jones had already been taken to task by American Danielle Collins, who he called a "brat" for her on-court behaviour.
Djokovic said he had not received a public apology from the broadcaster and would continue boycotting them until he does.
"Since they're official broadcasters, I chose not to give interviews for Channel Nine," Djokovic said, adding he had made his feelings clear to tournament director Craig Tiley.
"I told him, 'If you guys want to fine me for not giving an on-court interview, that's okay'. I'll accept that, because this is something that needs to be done. That's all there is to it."
His next opponent Alcaraz reached his second Australian Open quarter-final after injury-hampered opponent Jack Draper retired while trailing 7-5, 6-1.
Third seed Alcaraz was well on top in the afternoon match at Rod Laver Arena when Briton Draper decided he could not continue with the troublesome hip he had managed through three five-set matches at the tournament.
"This is not the way that I want to get through to the next round. I'm just happy to play another quarter-final here in Australia," Alcaraz said on court.
"But really sorry for Jack. He doesn't deserve to get injured."
It was the second time Draper had retired injured against Alcaraz, having cut short their 2023 match at Indian Wells due to an abdominal strain.
Draper said he felt his hip worsen after the third game and worried the injury was like a "ticking time-bomb".
"I just need to be sensible because there is no escape from it, especially here or whatever, you know, the tennis schedule is so tight," he said.
Meanwhile, Coco Gauff said she felt "invincible" after the recent United Cup and is not fazed about dropping her first set in nine matches this season in reaching the quarter-finals of the women's draw.
The American world number three beat Switzerland's Belinda Bencic 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 to set up a clash with 11th seed Paula Badosa of Spain.
"Two out of three sets at this stage of my career is not that physically hard for me," said the 20-year-old Gauff, who is chasing a first Melbourne title.
"The off-season I just put in so much work physically so I'm not worried at all about recovering emotionally or mentally," added Gauff, who won all five of her singles in Perth and Sydney to lead the US to a United Cup team triumph.
"The United Cup was a little bit more exhausting because of the fact that I finished at 1am one night, then had to fly across the country and play. That was more of the mental, emotional test.
"Honestly, I feel like after playing that whole United Cup, I felt pretty invincible."
Also, world No1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Double defending champion Sabalenka blew away Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-2 in a ruthless display on the hottest day of the tournament so far.
Sabalenka and Gauff will meet in the semi-finals should they win their respective matches in the last eight.
Belarus' Sabalenka was out on a roasting centre court for only 62 minutes before registering an 18th consecutive win at Melbourne Park.
"I'm super happy to get through this difficult match in straight sets," said Sabalenka, who faces Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova next.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The%20specs
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INDIA SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Squads
Australia: Finch (c), Agar, Behrendorff, Carey, Coulter-Nile, Lynn, McDermott, Maxwell, Short, Stanlake, Stoinis, Tye, Zampa
India: Kohli (c), Khaleel, Bumrah, Chahal, Dhawan, Shreyas, Karthik, Kuldeep, Bhuvneshwar, Pandey, Krunal, Pant, Rahul, Sundar, Umesh
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
The biog
Age: 30
Position: Senior lab superintendent at Emirates Global Aluminium
Education: Bachelor of science in chemical engineering, post graduate degree in light metal reduction technology
Favourite part of job: The challenge, because it is challenging
Favourite quote: “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” Gandi
Manchester City 4
Otamendi (52) Sterling (59) Stones (67) Brahim Diaz (81)
Real Madrid 1
Oscar (90)
Episode list:
Ep1: A recovery like no other- the unevenness of the economic recovery
Ep2: PCR and jobs - the future of work - new trends and challenges
Ep3: The recovery and global trade disruptions - globalisation post-pandemic
Ep4: Inflation- services and goods - debt risks
Ep5: Travel and tourism
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
De De Pyaar De
Produced: Luv Films, YRF Films
Directed: Akiv Ali
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Rakul Preet Singh, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jaaved Jaffrey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The%20specs
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
More on animal trafficking
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Profile box
Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
