Men's top seed Novak Djokovic claimed his 70th French Open victory on Thursday with a ruthless display against Ricardas Berankis.
After losing just five games in his opening round demolition job of Mikael Ymer, the world No 1 was equally efficient in his second round contest, thrashing world No 66 Berankis 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in just one hour and 23 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier and in font of a limited number of spectators.
"I felt really good. I hope I can carry on like this," said Djokovic, who moves level with Roger Federer in second place for all-time wins at Roland Garros.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion will be widely expected to edge ahead of the Swiss great after his third round match, where he faces lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan Riveros, the world No 153 from Colombia.
Djokovic, 33, still has some way to go to track down defending and 12-time champion Rafael Nadal's current wins tally of 95, but based on his form in Paris the Serb is, as expected, shaping up to be one of the leading contenders.
"Right from the blocks I want to bring in the intensity," Djokovic said of his second round performance. That he did, breaking Berankis in the Lithuanian's first service game before claiming a second break in the sixth game to hammer home his advantage.
The second set followed a similar pattern, Djokovic claiming a break at the first opportunity and following it up with another late on to cruise into a two-set lead. The 2016 French Open champion maintained his dominance in the third set, racing into a 4-0 lead before closing out the victory on serve.
Djokovic is yet to lose a completed match this year, his 33 wins in 2020 earning him titles at the inaugural ATP Cup, a record-eighth at the Australian Open, and a fifth in Dubai prior to the coronavirus lockdown.
Since tennis' return, Djokovic has clinched titles at the Western & Southern Open and the Italian Open. His only defeat came when he was disqualified from the US Open for striking a line judge with a ball.
Arguably the biggest threats to Djokovic's hopes of a second Roland Garros crown – Nadal and US Open champion Dominic Thiem, who reached the past two French Open finals – are positioned in the other half of the draw.
However, the second-highest seed remaining in Djokovic's side, Stefanos Tsitsipas, offered a timely reminder of his talents with an impressive 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over claycourt specialist Pablo Cuevas.
The Greek fifth seed was forced to battle back from two sets down in his first round match, but enjoyed a far more comfortable outing on Thursday and will face Slovenia's Aljaz Bedene for a place in the Round of 16.
“I would rate my game at a very good level," Tsitsipas, 22, said. "I’m glad I had a three-set match today after the first round.”
The one major shock in the men's draw on Thursday occurred on Court Suzanne Lenglen where Canadian ninth seed Denis Shapovalov lost a five-hour marathon to Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 8-6.
Ostapenko stuns Pliskova
However, the biggest upset of the day played out in the match that preceded Djokovic's on Court Philippe-Chatrier as former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko thrashed second seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-2.
Latvian Ostapenko, who won the 2017 title as an unseeded player, has struggled to consistently build on that breakthrough victory and entered this year's tournament ranked No 43 in the world.
But the powerful groundstrokes that carried her to the trophy three years ago were on display against Pliskova as she took full advantage of an error-strewn performance by the Czech.
"I was just trying to play my game, but I knew I had to return well today because she obviously has one of the best serves on tour," Ostapenko, 23, said.
"I think I was returning very well today. I had to hold my serve, which I did pretty good. Also to use some drop shots, because it's a very good shot in these conditions."
There was also a win for Spanish 11th seed Garbine Muguruza – Ostapenko's predecessor as French Open champion –who, incidentally, beat Pliskova's twin sister Kristyna, 6-3, 6-2.
Fourth seed and Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, seventh seed Petra Kvitova, and eighth seed Aryna Sabalenka all progressed to the third round, while American 29th seed Sloane Stephens was eliminated.
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
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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
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
