PARIS // The world No 1 Rafael Nadal expects to be fit for the ATP World Tour finals in London later this month despite withdrawing from this week's Paris Masters with a shoulder injury.
Nadal, who will come to the Mubadala Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi at the end of the year ranked No 1 in the world after winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, is suffering from tendinitis in his left shoulder but said he will return to training this week.
"I am not worried at all about London," the Spaniard told a news conference at Paris's Bercy sports hall today.
"It was not an easy decision (to pull out of the Paris Masters) because Paris is a special city for me, but I have played all the season's Masters and grand slams."
"I will be back to practice soon... before next Sunday."
Despite already having the year-end No 1 spot in the bag, Nadal will be determined to end the year in style in London's Docklands after a miserable performance when the tournament was staged there for the first time last year.
"I'm gonna do all in my hands to play well there," said Nadal, who lost all six sets he contested in the spectacular O2 Arena last year. "It's my goal to improve the image of last year in London."
However, Nadal hinted that his priority was to make sure he begins next year 100 per cent fit, unlike last year when he withdrew from the Australian Open mid-match against Andy Murray.
"If I have an injury now, it will be difficult to play at the beginning of the season next year," he said.
The ATP World Tour finals start on November 21.
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Friday
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Saturday
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Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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