Top seed Novak Djokovic put an end to the fairytale run of Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven during a battling 6-2 4-6 6-1 6-2 victory on Sunday to keep his Wimbledon title defence on track.
Chasing a fourth straight Wimbledon crown and seventh overall at the grass court major, Djokovic is now unbeaten on the manicured lawns of the All England Club since retiring due to an elbow injury against Tomas Berdych in the 2017 quarter-finals.
He will play Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner, 20, for a place in Friday's semi-finals after he ousted fifth-seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the previous contest on Centre Court.
Van Rijthoven was ranked 205th in the world last month and had not even won a Challenger Tour title when he took the ATP 250 grasscourt event in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, defeating world number one Daniil Medvedev 6-4 6-1 in the final.
"Very tough. I mean, I have never faced him before and he's kind of a new face on the tour," Djokovic said standing on the same lawn he graced a few hours earlier as part of a parade of former champions to celebrate Centre Court's 100 years.
"He was on a streak on this surface and I knew that it wasn't going to be easy with that serve and a lot of talent, great touch, powerful forehand, he can do a lot of damage.
"It took me a little bit of time to get used to his pace."
Djokovic broke the Dutchman at the first opportunity but was soon forced to dig deep on his own serve when van Rijthoven set up two break point chances.
But the Serbian saved both and let out a huge roar that sounded even louder with the roof closed because of the lateness of the match.
Van Rijthoven, 25, missed one more chance on Djokovic's serve in the seventh game and instead it was the top seed who got a second break to take the set with an exquisite backhand down the line.
He said before the tournament that it was his dream to play Djokovic, and he would not be beaten easily.
He started putting Djokovic under pressure with his heavy forehand and finally managed to crack his opponent's serve in the seventh game with cries of "Come on Tim" reverberating in the stands.
The Dutchman, who rates his delivery as his greatest weapon, saved four break points while serving for the second set at 5-4 before slamming down two consecutive aces to level the contest at one set apiece.
With less than 90 minutes left for an impending curfew at 11pm local time, many would have wondered if the match was headed for a Monday finish. But Djokovic, 35, had other ideas.
He slipped a few times on important points during the first two sets as he played a few metres behind the baseline to allow himself more time against the hard-hitting van Rijthoven.
After losing the second set he decided to change tactics and pumped up his aggression.
He showed why he has won 25 consecutive matches on grass and broke his opponent's serve twice to completely shut off the momentum the Dutchman had gained.
Djokovic got a break early in the fourth and let out roars of "come on" with his fists clenched, while a second break in the seventh game put the world number three firmly in control.
The 20-time major champion then converted his first match point with a forehand winner — his 28th of the evening — to keep his title defence rolling on grass.
"Conditions under the roof played a little bit different, a bit slippery. It takes a bit of time or a bit of adjustment but overall I closed out the match well," said Djokovic, claiming he was unaware of the approaching curfew.
"I'm lucky. It's never really pleasant if you can't finish the match the same day. Glad I did."
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How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
The Farewell
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma
Four stars
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
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Red flags
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- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The specs
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The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
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