World No 1 Daniil Medvedev showed few signs of rust in his first match in six weeks, defeating Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-3 at the Los Cabos Open on Wednesday.
Medvedev is playing his first tournament since bowing out of the quarter-finals in Mallorca on June 23. He missed Wimbledon because of its ban of Russian and Belarusian players in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The US Open champion gained the first break of the match to claim the opening set. He saved the first break point he faced in the opening game of the second, and gained the break he needed for a 4-2 lead against Hijikata.
The 21-year-old Australian world No 224 put up a fight, fending off a stream of break points before Medvedev closed it out after 90 minutes for his 250th match win.
"Someone told me this a few days ago," Medvedev said about the milestone. "Otherwise I would not have known. That's nice, a milestone in a way. I want more victories, but that's nice to have 250. We'll try to get more."
Medvedev, 26, next faces Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania, who beat Argentina's Facundo Bagnis 7-6, 6-3.
"It's definitely not that easy to play after you stop for a while, especially (playing my) first match on hard courts since a long, long time – since Miami," Medvedev said. "Sensations were not bad. I could have just broke a little bit more, but when you win everything is fine."
Second-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime also advanced, beating Mexico's Alex Hernandez 6-3, 7-5.
Hurkacz out, Kyrgios advances in Washington
Elsewhere on the ATP Tour, Polish second seed Hurkacz crashed out in his second-round match at the Washington Open, falling to Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4, 7-6.
Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios of Australia defeated American 14th seed Tommy Paul 6-3, 6-4 to book a third-round date with US fourth seed Reilly Opelka.
World No 63 Kyrgios, whose most recent title came at Washington in 2019, broke to open and close the first set. Paul's fourth double fault gave the Australian a match point and his forehand shot beyond the baseline gave Kyrgios the victory in 85 minutes.
Ruusuvuori, set to rise one shy of his career-high to 43rd in the world rankings, denied Hurkacz on all four break-point chances to advance after one hour and 44 minutes.
"I just tried to hang in there and stay as tough as can," Ruusuvuori said. "Long rallies, they really drain you and you start to feel dizzy during the points. Very tough."
His third-round opponent will be Sweden's Mikael Ymer, who ousted 15th seed Aslan Karatsev 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 after eliminating three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray in the first round.
Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka ousted Australia 11th seed Alex De Minaur 3-6, 7-6, 6-2. The world No 96 will next face seventh seed Karen Khachanov.
US third seed Taylor Fritz beat Australia's Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-3 to book a third-round match against British 16th seed Daniel Evans.
World No 13 Fritz comes off a five-set Wimbledon quarter-final loss to Rafael Nadal and two weeks in a boot with a stress fracture in his left foot.
"It has felt great. No pain at all. It's a really good sign," Fritz said. "Gives me a lot of confidence moving forward."
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The biog
Name: Salvador Toriano Jr
Age: 59
From: Laguna, The Philippines
Favourite dish: Seabass or Fish and Chips
Hobbies: When he’s not in the restaurant, he still likes to cook, along with walking and meeting up with friends.
if you go
The flights
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
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Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
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Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
More information
For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
Results:
6.30pm: Handicap | US$135,000 (Dirt) | 1,400 metres
Winner: Rodaini, Connor Beasley (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap | $135,000 (Turf) | 1,200m
Winner: Ekhtiyaar, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson
7.40pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes | Group 3 | $200,000 (T) | 2,000m
Winner: Spotify, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm: UAE Oakes | Group 3 | $250,000 (D) | 1,900m
Winner: Divine Image, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm: Zabeel Mile | Group 2 | $250,000 (T) | 1,600m
Winner: Mythical Image, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.20pm: Handicap | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
Winner: Major Partnership, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Uefa Nations League: How it Works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on Quran memorisation:
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
