LONDON // Andy Murray warned Novak Djokovic he is in good touch as the Queen’s Club history-maker plots to end the world No1’s reign as Wimbledon champion.
Murray completed the perfect warm-up for Wimbledon when the world No 2 defeated Milos Raonic 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday to retain the Queen’s title and lift the trophy for a record fifth time.
With Wimbledon getting under way on June 27, Murray looks well placed to emulate his historic 2013 triumph at the All England Club.
But Murray, 29, knows he is likely to have to defeat Djokovic, who has won Wimbledon for the last two years, to earn the third grand slam tournament win of his career.
Despite losing to Djokovic in 13 of their past 15 meetings, including this year’s Australian and French Open finals, Murray says the return to his camp of coach Ivan Lendl this week can make the difference in the grass-court major.
While Djokovic has been resting following the long-awaited completion of his career Grand Slam at Roland Garros, Murray has been honing his grass-court game and getting reacquainted with Lendl, who proved an invaluable presence when the Scot defeated Djokovic in the Wimbledon and US Open finals.
Murray is also encouraged by reaching four finals in his last four tournaments, a run that has brought him two titles including his victory over Djokovic on the Rome clay in May.
“I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have done that before,” Murray said. “It’s a sign things are going the right direction the last few months.
“I’m giving myself chances every week right now and winning a lot of matches.
“It’s been a good three months or so, and I need to try to keep that up between now and the end of the year. That’s the goal.”
Since claiming his first ever ATP Tour match win at Queen’s in 2005, the venue has retained a special place in Murray’s heart and he was visibly moved by surpassing four-time champions John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt.
“It’s a tournament that obviously means a lot to me. It’s been my most successful tournament by far,” he said. “To be the first player to win five times, it’s not an easy tournament to win. It always has a great field and the players I have beaten in the finals have been top players.”
Murray will not be resting on his laurels however and he will head straight to Wimbledon for a practice session on Monday.
“It’s obviously good preparation to win the event right beforehand, but I still have eight days until my first match at Wimbledon, so there’s time to make things better and there’s also time to mess things up,” he said.
“If I have five rubbish days of practice and don’t put everything into it and concentrate on what I’m trying to do and get better, then I can go into Wimbledon feeling rubbish.
“It’s been great, but I’m aware that I need to stay on it these next seven days. If I do that, then I’ll put myself in a good position.”
Murray does at least plan to spend a day or two with wife Kim and baby Sophia before the Wimbledon whirlwind.
“I’ll take a couple of off-days next week because I need it,” he said. “Most of the time it’s just being around the family, go for a walk with the dogs, do normal stuff away from the court. I’m looking forward to it.”
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Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
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Photograph
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Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
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1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
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Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner AF Nashrah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Mutaqadim, Riccardo Iacopini, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Jose Santiago, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
6.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner AF Almomayaz, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Dalil Al Carrere, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Jayide Al Boraq, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
England v South Africa schedule:
- First Test: At Lord's, England won by 219 runs
- Second Test: July 14-18, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 2pm
- Third Test: The Oval, London, July 27-31, 2pm
- Fourth Test: Old Trafford, Manchester, August 4-8
