Marketa Vondrousova faces a tough opening round match against Emma Raducanu in a clash of the two wildcards at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open.
The 2023 Wimbledon champion found herself paired with Britain's Raducanu following the draw ceremony at Zayed Sports City on Saturday evening.
“It's tough but it's nice to know who you're playing against first. I expect a tough match. She's a great player. I hope it's going to be a good one,” Vondrousova said on stage.
Vondrousova, 25, who has struggled with shoulder and back problems in recent times, added: “I actually felt great in Australia in the first matches and then I got injured. I didn't play for a couple of weeks but now I feel good, I'm healthy so I hope I'm going to stay healthy and play good tennis.”
Vondrousova and Raducanu are tied 1-1 head-to-head and this will be their first meeting on a hard court. The Czech holds a win on clay with Raducanu claiming victory on grass as an 18-year-old wildcard on her full Wimbledon debut in 2021. The winner of their clash will face Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva in the last 16.
Crowd favourite Ons Jabeur, who lost in three sets to Emma Navarro in the third round of the Australian Open, was paired with Jelena Ostapenko. The winner of that match will face either China's Yuan Yue or a qualifier. The world No 5, top seed and defending champion Elena Rybakina drew a first round bye.
Elsewhere in the main draw, which begins on Monday, Belinda Bencic, winner of the inaugural Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in 2023, goes up against Rebecca Sramkova, Polina Kudermetova faces Liudmila Samsonova and Caroline Garcia, 2022 WTA Finals champion, plays Lulu Sun.
Kenin eyes good run after opening win in Abu Dhabi
Former world No 4 Sofia Kenin enjoyed a winning start to her qualifying campaign at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, moving past Japan’s Aoi Ito 7-6 (4), 6-2 in sunny but windy conditions at Zayed Sports City on Saturday.
The 2020 Australian Open champion has struggled with injuries and form in recent years and arrives in the UAE capital ranked 74 in the world in singles and 21 in doubles.
Kenin, who won the doubles title in Abu Dhabi last year alongside Bethanie-Mattek Sands, next takes on Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday for a place in the main draw – a standout qualifying match-up between two former top-10 players.
“I’m happy that I won. She’s obviously not an easy opponent to play, not much rhythm and I didn’t feel 100 per cent myself, but managed to get through that one. It was more mental for me today than physical,” Kenin told The National of her win over Ito on Saturday.
The American suffered a first-round exit to Coco Gauff at the Australian Open last month but had a positive start to the year overall, reaching the quarter-finals in Hobart and the round of 16 in Auckland.
“I’m just trying to climb up the rankings, trying to keep doing my best. I felt my rhythm and everything, I had a pretty good start to the season overall, better than last year. I won a round here, so that’s better than last year too, so hopefully I can keep it going.”
At 26, Kenin is still relatively young on the tennis tour but she has seen both sides of the spectrum when it comes to results, winning a grand slam and reaching the final of another before she dropped in the rankings and lost her momentum.
“It’s definitely ups and downs in tennis but we’re playing in such a beautiful facility, I love it here. Just take it one match at a time and not overthink it and enjoy the moment,” she said of her current approach to the sport. “Obviously it’s not always going to be ups, there’s going to be some lows and it’s a matter of how you pick yourself back up.”
With the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Gauff dominating the tour in recent seasons, Kenin firmly believes she can reach their level and make a return to the top five once again.
“Yes definitely. I feel like they’re playing the best tennis and there’s a reason why they’re there. If I keep my A-game on, I’ll be fine. But hopefully I don’t play them anytime soon in the tournament, maybe in the later rounds but not automatically first round, preferably,” she added with a laugh.
On the biggest lessons learned from her roller coaster journey since 2020, Kenin said: “It’s just a matter of who you have supporting around you. It’s about keeping the right mindset and doing the stuff that you can do from your side. Eventually it should click and believe in yourself, that’s the most important thing.”
Qualifying action resumes on Sunday at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open with the main draw kicking off on Monday.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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The Farewell
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma
Four stars
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La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
Indika
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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.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
MATCH INFO
RB Leipzig 2 (Klostermann 24', Schick 68')
Hertha Berlin 2 (Grujic 9', Piatek 82' pen)
Man of the match Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin
