Ahmed Rizvi
DUBAI // One Williams sister will be playing for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title. Contrary to expectations, it will not be the world No 1 Serena.
After elder sister Venus’s commanding 6-3, 6-2 win over Caroline Wozniacki in the first semi-final, an all-Williams title clash was taken for granted.
After all, the younger sister, a tennis patrician, was going to take on a French plebeian in the second semi.
Alize Cornet? A lowly No 26 in the world, with only three minor WTA tour titles in her collection.
At the four majors, she has managed to reach the fourth round just once in 32 appearances.
Serena? A 17-time grand slam champion, an Olympic gold medallist and winner of 41 other tour titles. At the top of the WTA rankings, she enjoys a 5,690-point lead over the No 2 Li Na. So, if royalty exists in tennis, she is the queen.
However, Serena said she was left “embarrassed” by a brave opponent who refused to be overawed. Cornet hustled and harried the erratic No 1 with some brilliant returns and retrievals, and at the end of 82 minutes she completed a notable 6-4, 6-4 upset.
“I didn’t sleep much,” Cornet said of the night before. “I was so excited about this match, and now that I beat Serena, it’s a dream comes true. It’s going to be a short night again.”
Before last night, Cornet had played against a world No 1 only twice – losing to Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and Wozniacki in 2011.
“I didn’t play well,” Serena said. “I tried, though. I just kept hitting errors. I don’t think I’ve made that many errors in a match in at least three, maybe four years.”
Cornet was nearly as stunned.
“Wow, 6-4, 6-4 … I didn’t expect that, definitely, and I’m really, really happy and proud of myself,” she said.
It was uphill all the way, said Serena, who has never made the final in Dubai, where her sister has two career titles.
“I started out extremely slow,” Serena said. “I have actually been looking at a turtle every day. It’s a really cute turtle in the hotel. I think it’s so cute.
“Maybe I was too influenced by it. I need to play better than that if I want to be playing on the professional tour. Maybe I can go to the amateurs.”
The American sisters have not met in a final since Doha in 2009.
Given Venus’s performance against Wozniacki, Cornet could have trouble reprising her role as giant-killer against the elder Williams sister.
“Before this match, I was telling my coach that Venus has been impressing me the whole week,” Cornet said. “She’s back to her top level.”
Cornet, 24, is getting there, too. She was just 18 when she climbed to No 11 in the world in 2009, but by 2012 she had slipped to No 115.
She has since recovered, but few would have given her a chance of defeating a world No 1. Now, she could become the eighth player in history to beat both of the Williams sisters in the same tournament. And she certainly has an added incentive.
“I think [Venus] feels a little bit at home here in Dubai because she won twice,” said Cornet, who lost to Venus in her 2009 title run. “So it’s going to be revenge, and, wow, I can’t wait for it.”
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
Kandahar%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ric%20Roman%20Waugh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EGerard%20Butler%2C%20Navid%20Negahban%2C%20Ali%20Fazal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Tabby%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%20August%202019%3B%20platform%20went%20live%20in%20February%202020%3Cbr%3EFounder%2FCEO%3A%20Hosam%20Arab%2C%20co-founder%3A%20Daniil%20Barkalov%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Payments%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2040-50%20employees%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Arbor%20Ventures%2C%20Mubadala%20Capital%2C%20Wamda%20Capital%2C%20STV%2C%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20JIMCO%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Outliers%20VC%2C%20MSA%20Capital%2C%20HOF%20and%20AB%20Accelerator.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Khodar%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cairo%20and%20Alexandria%2C%20in%20Egypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ayman%20Hamza%2C%20Yasser%20Eidrous%20and%20Amr%20El%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20agriculture%20technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Saudi%20Arabia%E2%80%99s%20Revival%20Lab%20and%20others%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEmployees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
