After six years and 43 matches, Novak Djokovic finally lost in Australia.
The Serbian has made this part of the season in this part of the world his own playground; in the time since Djokovic last tasted defeat Down Under, in the fourth round of the 2018 Australian Open, the world No 1 has reeled off four of his record 10 Australian Open titles, collected a smattering of warm-up trophies, and gone undefeated when representing Serbia in team events.
The only year in that time he went trophyless and failed to add to his record was in 2022 when he was deported at the end of his infamous Covid vaccine saga. Only the Australian government was capable of halting the Djokovic juggernaut.
And, now, Alex de Minaur. The pair had met once before, almost 12 months ago at the Australian Open, but even with the home crowd behind him, De Minaur was utterly dominated by the eventual champion.
Quite clearly, there was very little scar tissue from that experience when the world No 12 strode on to the court in Perth. Many players shy away from the challenge of facing Djokovic but a player nicknamed "Demon" for his speed and tenacity is not one of them.
"When you go up against Novak you have to go out and enjoy it and back yourself, and no matter what, keep fighting until the end," the Australian said on court after his deserved 6-4, 6-4 victory in the United Cup team event. "Today was my day and I’m happy that I was able to get the win."
De Minaur is one of the fastest players on the ATP Tour and possesses exceptional movement, but his lack of big weapons has left him short when up against the game's elite players. That was not the case on Wednesday when he outserved and out-rallied Djokovic, bringing a new level of aggression to his game that had not previously been seen.
He won 33 of 34 points on first serve and never gave Djokovic a look at break point; by contrast, De Minaur gave himself five chances to break the Djokovic serve and took two of them, one in each set.
“I’m here to prove a lot of people wrong and to try and get better," said De Minaur. "Ultimately I won’t be the biggest or the strongest. I will show I have variety in my game and I’m glad I could bring this level today.”
It was a day that belonged to De Minaur, but naturally, a Djokovic defeat, particularly in Australia, is going to get magnified – even more so when the first Grand Slam of the season is just 10 days away.
The most obvious reason for the Serb's below-standard display is a wrist injury. Djokovic admitted after his previous win over the Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka that he is "managing" the issue, and it was clear the 36-year-old was struggling physically.
After holding for a 4-3 lead in the first set, Djokovic called for the trainer to get the injury assessed and again two games later. The hope now for the world No 1 is that the injury isn't severe enough to disrupt his bid for an 11th Australian Open title.
“I have had discomfort for two days," Djokovic said. "During yesterday's match and today's match especially, it got worse, but I don't want to spend too much time on this and take away from Alex's victory. Now I will try to recover for the Australian Open. I think it will be fine by then.”
Despite this setback, Djokovic remains the overwhelming favourite to add to his men's record haul of 24 Grand Slam trophies when the tour makes its way to Melbourne Park. All winning streaks in sports come to an end at some point; few would put it past Djokovic to simply start another one.
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.
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
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Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)
2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)
3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
Related
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm kick-off UAE)
Bayer Leverkusen v Schalke (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Cologne (5.30pm)
Mainz v Arminia Bielefeld (5.30pm)
Augsburg v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Bayern Munich (8.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Freiburg (10.30pm)
Sunday
VfB Stuttgart v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Union Berlin v Hertha Berlin (8pm)
CREW
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