A shot at revenge could not have come sooner for Aryna Sabalenka, who has a rematch with Garbine Muguruza in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships quarter-finals on Thursday, a week after falling to the Spaniard in the third round in Doha.
The third-seeded Sabalenka overpowered Estonian Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 6-2 in a mere 64 minutes on Wednesday and had to wait until the evening before Muguruza punched her ticket to the quarters with a 6-0, 6-4 result over reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek.
“This time I will be focused from the beginning of the match and I’ll put pressure on her [Muguruza]. I’ll just try to work for every point and do my best and make sure I can get this win back,” said Sabalenka.
Sabalenka's only three defeats this season have been tight three-setters, including the loss to Muguruza last week in the Qatari capital, and a fourth-round exit at the hands of Serena Williams at the Australian Open last month.
The in-form Belarusian, who is the sole top-eight seed still alive in the Dubai draw, conceded that she has been lacking that killer instinct against top players and hopes she’ll be ready to rectify that against the ninth-seeded Muguruza on Thursday.
“Against Serena and against Muguruza, two matches where I had the same situation that I couldn’t finish the match. Because I was serving with a break and then I just gave her the chance to come back in the match and then I lost myself completely,” said the 22-year-old Sabalenka.
“I spoke with my psychologist about this situation, because I feel like this has nothing to do with my game, this is just about my brain.
“I feel like I haven’t played against really top players for a long time so I kind of lost this feeling how to push them in the end, like how to finish the game.
“I hope that those two matches are enough to remind myself how to actually beat top players.”
Muguruza, who tops the match-wins leaderboard on tour this season with 15 victories to her name, is excited about her rematch with Sabalenka.
“Back-to-back matches is good; that means I’m playing the top players, that means I’m getting into the deep rounds. I’m looking forward for another battle,” said the two-time Grand Slam champion.
Earlier in the day, second-seeded Karolina Pliskova suffered a second heavy defeat in as many weeks to American Jessica Pegula, who was in ruthless form during the 53-minute rout.
The world No 36 crushed Pliskova 6-0, 6-2 to storm into the quarter-finals on her tournament debut, and will square off with Belgian 10th seed Elise Mertens for a place in the last four.
Pliskova has won back-to-back matches just once in her last seven tournaments and the ex-world No 1 admits she is yet to find a solution for her lack of consistency.
“Honestly I don’t know. I’m just going from playing one day quite good tennis to another day playing not so good,” the No 2 seed said after the match.
Pliskova noted that facing opponents with very different game styles in consecutive matches can play a factor but added: “Anyway I’m too old to just not adapt on these things and I just have to get used to it much faster.”
Meanwhile, Pegula has plenty to be proud of. Backing up a breakthrough run like the one she had at the Australian Open last month is no mean feat but the American has somehow made it look easy.
After reaching a maiden grand slam quarter-final in Melbourne, Pegula made the semi-finals in Doha last week and is now through to the quarters in Dubai.
“I definitely think I surprised myself a little bit with how well I’ve done,” confessed the 26-year-old from Buffalo.
Elsewhere, No 6 seed and 2019 champion Belinda Bencic joined the seeds exodus as she stumbled 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 to Russian world No 88 Anastasia Potapova. The 19-year-old will take on Barbora Krejcikova in the quarter-finals.
Coco Gauff made it two teenagers through to the last-eight stage as she eased past qualifier Tereza Martincova 6-4, 6-2.
Ons Jabeur suffered a disappointing exit when she was beaten by Jil Teichmann on Centre Court 6-3, 6-3.
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
The specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 849Nm
Range: 456km
Price: from Dh437,900
On sale: now
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
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
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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
57%20Seconds
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rusty%20Cundieff%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJosh%20Hutcherson%2C%20Morgan%20Freeman%2C%20Greg%20Germann%2C%20Lovie%20Simone%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
If you go
The Flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Johannesburg from Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Economy return tickets cost from Dh2,650, including taxes.
The trip
Worldwide Motorhoming Holidays (worldwidemotorhomingholidays.co.uk) operates fly-drive motorhome holidays in eight destinations, including South Africa. Its 14-day Kruger and the Battlefields itinerary starts from Dh17,500, including campgrounds, excursions, unit hire and flights. Bobo Campers has a range of RVs for hire, including the 4-berth Discoverer 4 from Dh600 per day.
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Baniyas Group 2 (PA) Dh 97,500 (Dirt) 1,400m.
7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m
8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh 95,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh 85,000 (D) 2,000m
Last 10 winners of African Footballer of the Year
2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan and Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2012: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2013: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2014: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Read more from Kareem Shaheen
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
