Rafael Nadal maintained his dominance of the European clay courts by winning his 11th Monte Carlo Masters title on Sunday.
World No 1 Nadal has swept past all before him in Monaco and the final proved no different, with the Spaniard defeating Japan’s Nei Nishikori 6-3,, 6-2 in one hour and 34 minutes. It is Nadal’s third successive Monte Carlo title. He previously won eight in a row between 2005 and 2012.
"I want to congratulate Kei for a great week. It's always difficult to be back from injury and I'm happy to see you again playing well,” said Nadal, who was playing at his first ATP event since retiring from an Australian Open quarter-final against Marin Cilic with a hip injury in January.
"I want to thank all my team and my family. We had some tough moments during the last five months after a couple of injuries in a row.
"It's great to have a group of great people behind me. I can say thank you very much always for being there and supporting me when I really need it.
"It's always special for me to be back here, having this trophy. It's one of the most important events of the year for me."
Nishikori, the former world No 4 who is making his way back from a lengthy wrist injury layoff, has been in impressive form this week, defeating second seed Marin Cilic and third seed Alexander Zverev en route to the final.
And Japan’s top-ranked male player looked set to cause Nadal some problems after he broke for a 2-1 lead at the start of the match. All that seemed to do was wake the giant as Nadal won the next four games before serving out the opening set.
If Nishikori offered some resistance in the first set, he was powerless to stop Nadal in the second. The 16-time grand slam champion earned back-to-back breaks to streak into a 5-1 lead, and after Nishikori held serve to love, Nadal comfortably closed out the victory.
Next up for both Nadal and Nishikori is the Barcelona Open, where the Spaniard is the defending and 10-time champion. Nishikori has also enjoyed success in Catalonia, winning the title twice in 2014 and 2015.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
