Novak Djokovic admitted that he might have played his final match at Roland Garros following his semi-final loss to world No 1 Jannik Sinner.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner, who turned 38 last month, conceded Sinner had been “too good for me” after going down 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 to the Italian on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Djokovic certainly made Sinner work for his victory which means the 23-year-old is now on a 20-match winning streak in majors as he heads into the final against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
And after the match, Djokovic revealed he is yet to decide whether he will back again in Paris next year in a bid to win a fourth French Open crown.
“This could have been the last match ever I played here – I don't know. That's why it was a bit more emotional at the end,” said the Serbian, who was Roland Garros champion in 2016, 2021 and 2023.
“But if this was the farewell match of Roland Garros for me in my career, it was a wonderful one in terms of the atmosphere and what I got from the crowd.”
When pressed on whether he would return, sixth seed Djokovic added: “I don't know right now. Twelve months at this point in my career is quite a long time.
“Do I wish to play more? Yes, I do. But will I be able to play in 12 months' time here again? I don't know. That's all I can say for the moment.”
But the former world No 1 did make clear that attempting to secure Grand Slam No 25 in London and New York later this year “are the priorities of my schedule”.
“Wimbledon and US Open, yes, they are in plans,” he said of the tournaments where he has seven and four titles, respectively. “That's all I can say right now.
“I feel like I want to play those two, for sure. For the rest, I'm not so sure.
“Wimbledon is my childhood favourite tournament. I'm going to do everything possible to get myself ready.
“I guess my best chances maybe are Wimbledon, you know, to win another Slam or maybe Australia.”
Sunday's first major final between Sinner and Djokovic feels very much the like changing of the guard of a men's game that has been dominated for so long by Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
With the latter two now retired and the former seemingly closing in on calling it a day, the two young guns of world tennis have taken centre stage.
Sinner, who is yet to drop a set in the tournament, will be hoping to gain revenge on Alcaraz after losing to the Spaniard in five sets in the semi-finals last year.
Alcaraz has won his last four matches against Sinner, including in the Italian Open final in May when Sinner returned from a three-month doping ban.
“It takes time to compare us with the big three,” said Sinner, who will be playing in his first Roland Garros final.
“I believe that tennis or every sport needs rivalries, no? This could be potentially one of these, but there are amazing players coming up.
“Sunday is going to be very difficult, I know my head-to-head lately doesn't look great against Carlos but let's see what I can do,” added Sinner, who is a three-time Grand Slam champion.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, secured his final spot against Sinner after his last-four opponent Lorenzo Musetti was forced to retire due to a leg injury with the Spaniard leading 4-6, 7-6, 6-0, 2-0.
The world's top two played each other less than three weeks ago when Alcaraz came out on top in Rome but the four-time major winner is fully aware of the challenge ahead of him.
“He's the best tennis player right now,” Alcaraz said of the Italian. “I mean, he's destroying every opponent.
“I love that battle. But most of the time is just about suffering, because [he pushes] you to the limit.
“It gives you feedback of how I can be a better player. I think that's important, and that's beautiful. Even if I win or not, it gives you a lot of stats and gives you feedback.
“It's going to be a really great Sunday for fans of tennis.”
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed PDK
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 820Nm
Price: Dh683,200
On sale: now
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
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UAE v Zimbabwe A, 50 over series
Fixtures
Thursday, Nov 9 - 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 11 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Monday, Nov 13 – 2pm, Dubai International Stadium
Thursday, Nov 16 – 2pm, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 18 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Scoreline
Liverpool 3
Mane (7'), Salah (69'), Firmino (90')
Bournemouth 0
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20Shipsy%3Cbr%3EYear%20of%20inception%3A%202015%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Soham%20Chokshi%2C%20Dhruv%20Agrawal%2C%20Harsh%20Kumar%20and%20Himanshu%20Gupta%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20India%2C%20UAE%20and%20Indonesia%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20logistics%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%20more%20than%20350%20employees%3Cbr%3EFunding%20received%20so%20far%3A%20%2431%20million%20in%20series%20A%20and%20B%20rounds%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Info%20Edge%2C%20Sequoia%20Capital%E2%80%99s%20Surge%2C%20A91%20Partners%20and%20Z3%20Partners%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
HOW TO WATCH
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Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, six-cylinder
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 395bhp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: from Dh321,200
On sale: now
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