NEW YORK // Roger Federer took aim at US Open organisers after an easy win on Monday, cruising past Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, but was more worried about the playing surface than his opponent Wednesday, Israel's Dudi Sela.
The third-seeded Swiss showed he was still eager for more challenges, complaining that organisers, the United States Tennis Association, had made the courts too slow and too similar to those of the Australian Open.
"Did they make a mistake? Maybe they did paint the court a bit too rough. It's just unfortunate that maybe all the slams are too equal," the 16-time major champion said. "They should feel very different to the Australian Open, and now I don't feel it really does."
"The night session just feels like you can take huge cuts at the ball, you can run everything down. It's great for tennis, but I'm not sure if it's really what the game needs.
"The game needs different speed at slams and so forth. I don't feel we quite have that at the moment, especially if the US Open is getting slower."
Federer joined Andre Agassi on 224 wins in singles matches at grand slam tournaments with his victory over Giraldo. Jimmy Connors holds the record at 233.
Serbia's Viktor Troicki was the only seeded player on the men's side to lose on a comfortable opening day in the men's draw.
Winners Tuesday included fifth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain, who dropped a first set but recovered to stop Igor Andreev 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, the 11th seed, was a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 winner over Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei; and Sergey Bubka, who beat Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
Andy Murray, who begins his quest for his first major title against Somdev Devvarman Wednesday, is hoping changes in his diet will prove the missing piece in the grand slam jigsaw.
Murray is following in the footsteps of Novak Djokovic, the world No 1, who went gluten free before embarking on his run of 57 wins from 59 matches this season. Murray is eating a similar diet to Djokovic, and the world No 4 declared he has never felt better, even if it does present a few challenges.
"I'm having a lot more fish and vegetables and trying to have a more balanced diet, rather than just the typical pasta before matches and steaks and chicken," said the Scot. "Breakfast is quite difficult because, normally, I could have bagels and any spreads. And then snacks during the day. Now, rather than having a chocolate bar, I'm having an apple or a banana.
"It's something that, now that I know how I feel, I wish I had been doing it longer. I feel way better. I wake up at 7am now and feel great. Before I would wake up at 9.30 and feel terrible."
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs: 2019 Audi A8
Price From Dh390,000
Engine 3.0L V6 turbo
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 345hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy, combined 7.5L / 100km
Motori Profile
Date started: March 2020
Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa
Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi
Sector: Insurance Sector
Size: 50 full-time employees (Inside and Outside UAE)
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Safe City Group
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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'Jurassic%20World%20Dominion'
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Colin%20Trevorrow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Sam%20Neill%2C%20Laura%20Dern%2C%20Jeff%20Goldblum%2C%20Bryce%20Dallas%20Howard%2C%20Chris%20Pratt%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
WORLD CUP FINAL
England v South Africa
Yokohama International Stadium, Tokyo
Saturday, kick-off 1pm (UAE)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%3A
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
3%20Body%20Problem
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
ZIMBABWE V UAE, ODI SERIES
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday - Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Switching%20sides
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
