Ranked second in the world, Simona Halep merited the honour of kicking off the US Open on Center Court.
The stage proved imposing at first, and Halep needed to rally from a set down to beat a young American making her grand slam debut.
The Romanian won 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 on Monday over Danielle Rose Collins, 20.
As a sophomore at Virginia, an unseeded Collins won the NCAA title to earn a wild card into the US Open.
The French Open runner-up, Halep reached a career-high ranking of No 2 this month. She has never advanced past the fourth round at the US Open.
“My best moment of my life – I have to enjoy this,” she said in an on-court interview after the match. “But it’s not easy. There’s a lot of pressure on me. Everyone is telling me that I have chances to win.”
For Collins, she expected to return 24 hours later to a far smaller venue: a college classroom.
“Summer was too much fun,” she said.
Hobbled by injuries during the season, Collins rolled through the NCAA tournament to become the Cavaliers’ first women’s singles champion in May.
She had never before even played a main draw match at a tour-level event. She started right at the top by playing in Ashe.
“It was amazing,” Collins said. “I mean, I could get used to that.”
Ranked 47th at the end of 2012, Halep’s rapid rise booked her as the opening act in the cavernous confines of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Her reaction when she found out: “Wow.”
“It’s not easy to see that you play first match of tournament on center court,” she said. “But, you know, I have experience now. I didn’t manage very well the emotions, but it’s good that I finished well.”
Sixth-seeded Angelique Kerber also needed three sets to outlast qualifier Ksenia Pervak 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, coming back from down a break in the third set.
Fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska had no such trouble. She beat Sharon Fichman 6-1, 6-0 in 47 minutes, losing just three points in the second set.
In the battle of the veterans, Venus Williams survived a first-set hiccup to overcome 43-year-old Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, and Germany’s Angelique Kerber defeated Russian Ksenia Pervak 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
In the men’s draw, spinning in 70 mph second serves, grabbing at his hamstrings, Andy Murray gritted his way through cramps to win his first-round match.
The eighth-seeded Murray beat Robin Haase 6-3, 7-6, 1-6, 7-5 on a steamy day. He started cramping in the back of his shoulder early in the third set, then it spread to his forearm.
Murray was twice down a break in the fourth set, but Haase unraveled with a string of unforced errors. The 70th-ranked Haase wasted three break points in the final game, when he was also hurt by a missed call.
Radek Stepanek crashed out tamely to German Mattias Bachinger 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, and Andreas Seppi overcame Ukranian Sergiy Stakhovsky in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, 6-4.
No 21 seed Mikhail Youzhny’s hopes were ended by young Australian Nikos Kyrgios, who won 7-5, 7-6, 2-6, 7-6.
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The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick
Rating:****
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m. Winner: Majd Al Megirat, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Shehhi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: Dassan Da, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Heba Al Wathba, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Harbour Spirit, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Types of policy
Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.
Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.
Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.
Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
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