US Open champion Marin Cilic made a shock first-round exit from the Shanghai Masters on Monday after losing 5-7, 6-2, 6-7 (2/7), to fellow Croatian Ivo Karlovic.
After dropping the first set, Cilic broke his opponent twice in the second to force a decider but Karlovic clinched the tie-breaker to seal victory in 2 hours and 16 minutes.
Cilic, sixth in the race to November’s elite eight-player ATP World Tour Finals in London, had won his last two matches against Karlovic, who blasted 20 aces to his opponent’s nine.
It proved a good day for big-servers as world No 14 John Isner belted down 22 aces to beat Spaniard Pablo Andujar 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 6-3.
The American, who lost to Tomas Berdych in the China Open quarter-final last week, won 71 per cent of his service points to win in just over two hours.
“Beijing was great last week,” said Isner after his 38th win of the season. “I had a pretty good tournament. Got my tail kicked in the quarters. But I’m playing pretty well.
“I’m still alive here. I’m glad I’m not on a flight home tomorrow. It’s all good. Playing better away from the States is something I’m always trying to do and I feel like it’s something I’ve done so far.”
Bulgarian Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov, ranked 10th and very much in the hunt for a place in the London end-of-year showcase, cruised in his first round match as well.
The 23-year-old dusted off Uzbekistan’s world No 51 Denis Istomin 6-3, 6-3 in just 1 hour 5 minutes.
If he can get past either Julien Benneteau or wild card Ze Zhang in the second round, he faces a likely headline clash with Japanese US Open finalist Kei Nishikori in the third round.
Nishikori, the seventh seed and given a bye, faces Jack Sock in the second round. American Sock, 22, beat Australian Bernard Tomic, 21, 7-6 (7/4), 6/7 (4/7), 6-4 on Monday.
Argentine Juan Monaco downed Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) to set up a second-round clash with eighth seed Milos Raonic.
Other winners included Malek Jaziri (d Donald Young), Yen-hsun Lu (d Marcel Granollers), Kevin Anderson (d James Ward) and Richard Gasquet (d Jeremy Chardy).
Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer are together this week in Shanghai for the first time since Wimbledon having already secured their places at the London season finale.
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Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
The Specs:
The Specs:
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 444bhp
Torque: 600Nm
Price: AED 356,580 incl VAT
On sale: now.
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
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
Scoreline
Man Utd 2 Pogba 27', Martial 49'
Everton 1 Sigurdsson 77'
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGrowdash%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJuly%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESean%20Trevaskis%20and%20Enver%20Sorkun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERestaurant%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24750%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Plus%20VC%2C%20Judah%20VC%2C%20TPN%20Investments%20and%20angel%20investors%2C%20including%20former%20Talabat%20chief%20executive%20Abdulhamid%20Alomar%2C%20and%20entrepreneur%20Zeid%20Husban%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
