LONDON // Lleyton Hewitt rolled back the years on Centre Court yesterday, the 2002 champion pulling off the biggest shock of the tournament so far when disposing of world No 5 Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets.
The pugnacious Australian was always going to be a handful for his imposing Argentine opponent. No match physically for the 6ft 6in powerfully-built Del Potro, Hewitt more than compensated for his size disadvantage with speed and tenacity and was streets ahead in knowing how to construct a grass-court victory.
To describe Del Potro as resembling "Bambi on Ice" would be going too far but he was less than comfortable scrambling along the baseline in pursuit of Hewitt's well-placed ground shots and he lacked the confidence to spend too much time at the net exploiting his tremendously long reach.
It is doubtful that Del Potro, who has lost in the second round on all three of his visits to Wimbledon, put a priority on the short grass-court season.
If he does and experiments with the serve-volley tactic used to such devastating effect by the seven-time champion Pete Sampras, then he is capable of doing serious damage here.
In the short term he will be hoping history repeats itself because he left Wimbledon last year to embark on an eye-catching run of four successive tournament wins leading up to the US Open at which his sequence was finally broken by Andy Murray in the quarter-finals.
While Del Potro, 20, who was a schoolboy fan of Hewitt, looked resigned to his 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 fate long before the end of his two-and-half-hour struggle, looks longingly to the future, Hewitt, 28, is looking to seize this unexpected moment back in the limelight.
Having opened up a section of the draw which was originally occupied by defending champion Rafael Nadal, who withdrew with a knee injury, the Australian, who is steadily regaining his reputation after hip surgery, will now fancy his chances of enhancing his impressive record on grass.
Hewitt, who has also won four titles at Queen's Club and one on the Dutch lawns of Rosmalen to go with his cherished Wimbledon honour, was in command from the moment he broke Del Potro in the sixth game of the opening set.
A further break of the daunting Del Potro serve - it was a pity the Argentine did not have more to back up that fearsome delivery - in the 11th game of the second set proved pivotal and when Hewitt broke again in the opening game of the third it looked all over.
Only then did Hewitt, a former world No 1 but now ranked 56, show any hint of weakness, failing to serve out for the match at 5-4.
That lapse was not costly because the Australian fashioned another immediate break and this time made no mistake in completing what was clearly an important
victory to him.
"I knew what I wanted to do, but whether I could go out there and execute it was another matter," said an elated Hewitt.
"I executed perfectly and hit the ball great. I served unbelievable for most of the match. I took it to him right from the start. So I was pretty happy with the way I played.
"It was a big win for me. I wanted to beat a top-five guy and these are the places you want to do it.
"I've got a lot of respect for Del Potro. He's only going to get better. He's a future grand-slam champion on possibly any surface. I knew it was going to be a tough match today, but I was up for it from the start.
"He's a very talented player, but he's still a little bit raw. I had to try to take advantage of that as much as possible. And I did that. I played a really smart match."
Hewitt is now on course for a quarter-final meeting with another former grand slam champion, Andy Roddick. The American dropped a set for the second time here but still had enough in reserve to account for Russia's Igor Kunitsyn 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 and next faces the 26th-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer.
wjohnson@thenational.ae
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Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Arsenal's pre-season fixtures
Thursday Beat Sydney 2-0 in Sydney
Saturday v Western Sydney Wanderers in Sydney
Wednesday v Bayern Munich in Shanghai
July 22 v Chelsea in Beijing
July 29 v Benfica in London
July 30 v Sevilla in London
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
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 specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
