MIAMI // Top seed Rafael Nadal and reigning Aussie Open champ Stanislas Wawrinka posted straight-set victories in the third round at the WTA and ATP Miami Masters hardcourt tournament on Monday.
French Open champion Nadal needed just 59 minutes to rout Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, 6-1, 6-0 while Wawrinka cruised into the fourth round with a 7-5, 6-4 dismantling of Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France at Crandon Park.
“I’m happy with the way I was fighting, the way I stayed positive in the game,” said the 28-year-old Wawrinka. “Even if I was wasn’t moving or playing so as well at the beginning, I stayed with him.
“I was fighting with myself to get control of the point.”
Nadal, who finished runner-up in this event three times, will next face 14th-seeded Fabio Fognini, who battled back to beat Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Swiss Wawrinka will square off against Alexandr Dolgopolov after the 22nd-seeded Ukrainian rallied for a 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 win over Dusan Lajovic.
Wawrinka already owns two titles this year. He claimed his first grand slam win in Melbourne in January. His best previous finish in Miami was a straight set loss to Nadal in the round of 16 in 2009.
Like Nadal, Canada’s Milos Raonic barely broke a sweat on Monday. Raonic, who dropped only five points on his serve in the match, reached the last 16 for the first time after being forced to withdraw from third-round matches with injuries the past two years.
“I just generally improved, especially on second serve returns (and) taking advantage more of those opportunities,” Raonic said.
He next faces German Benjamin Becker, who beat Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 7-5.
“It’s going to be a tough match but it’s up to me,” Raonic said. “I’ve got to play well. If I do, I can always give myself an opportunity to do well.”
Seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych downed Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-2, 6-4, while 10th-seeded John Isner posted a 7-5, 6-3 victory over 18th-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain.
The American Isner will face Berdych in the next round.
On the women’s side of the draw, world number one Serena Williams breezed into the quarter-finals while Russian fourth seed Maria Sharapova battled through three sets to advance.
Top-seeded defending champion Williams routed US qualifier Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-1 in 78 minutes to book a last-eight matchup with German fifth seed Angelique Kerber.
Sharapova rallied to defeat Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 after two hours and four minutes while Kerber took six minutes longer to eliminate Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Williams smashed 17 winners to only 11 unforced errors and denied her compatriot on all six of her break-point chances to book her 13th quarter-final in 14 Miami appearances.
“It was a much tougher match than the scoreline showed,” Williams said.
Williams owns a 3-1 career edge over Kerber, whose lone win came two years ago on the Cincinnati hardcourts.
“I feel better than I did in my first few matches, though, so I hope I can keep going forward,” Williams said.
Four-time grand slam champion Sharapova, a five-time Miami runner-up, is still seeking her first title at the hardcourt event.
“It’s not like I didn’t have my opportunities in those finals. I just didn’t take them. That’s why you come back and hope for another chance,” Sharapova said.
Sharapova made 10 double faults, half of them in the first set, and served no aces but improved as the match progressed and in the final set won five of 12 points off the Belgian’s first serve and seven of nine off her second serves.
Next up for Sharapova will be Czech eighth seed Petra Kvitova who beat Serbian 12th seed Ana Ivanovic 3-6, 6-0, 6-0.
Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia also advance by beating Venus Williams 6-1, 5-7, 6-3.
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NINE WINLESS GAMES
Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace (Oct 27, PL)
Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal (Oct 30, EFL)
Arsenal 1-1 Wolves (Nov 02, PL)
Vitoria Guimaraes 1-1 Arsenal (Nov 6, Europa)
Leicester 2-0 Arsenal (Nov 9, PL)
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Nov 23, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (Nov 28, Europa)
Norwich 2-2 Arsenal (Dec 01, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Brighton (Dec 05, PL)
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
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.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate
It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.
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- Grade 7 = grade A
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- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
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
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
