DUBAI // Victoria Azarenka is pleased with her 17 successive victories so far this season, but the Australian Open champion is not about to compare her winning streak with Novak Djokovic's all-conquering start to last season just yet.
"I am honoured to have the comparison because he is a great champion, but I have a lot of work to do to catch up with him," Azarenka said. Djokovic went 41 matches unbeaten at the start of last season.
The 22-year-old Azarenka is the top-seeded player at the Dubai Tennis Championships, which started yesterday amid a rash of withdrawals. The field also includes Caroline Wozniacki, the defending champion, and the US Open winner Sam Stosur, but Petra Kvitova, the Wimbledon champion, the French Open winner Li Na and Vera Zvonareva all withdrew because of illness and injury.
Last week, Zvonareva retired from the Qatar Open while trailing Monica Niculescu 7-5, 3-2 because of pain in her left hip. Kvitova pulled out of that event with an unspecified injury.
However, Azarenka shook off a lingering ankle injury to win the Qatar Open on Sunday, routing Stosur 6-1, 6-2.
The Belarusian's 17th consecutive victory sealed her first title since replacing Wozniacki at the top of the world rankings after winning in Melbourne. The Doha victory was Azarenka's third title of 2012, having started out by winning the Sydney tournament.
"I am enjoying a moment a lot," Azarenka said, who was yesterday resting her sore ankle.
Like Djokovic, Azarenka could not single out a particular change in her game or training to explain her start to the season - one she might not even have played after almost quitting tennis a year ago, following early defeats in Doha and Dubai.
"It's hard to say it's one thing. Behind that [success] is a lot of hard work, some unfortunate losses last year, and some good losses I learnt from last year," Azarenka said. "I am also a more mature player. I have a better mind, a clearer mind. I know what I am doing."
Rather than quitting, Azarenka took a brief break and returned to tennis to have her best season in 2011, winning 55 of 72 matches to finish the year at No 3.
She returned in 2012, winning the Australian Open and becoming No 1.
Azarenka also credits her transformation to a greater maturity on the court instilled by her coach Sam Sumyk and improved fitness.
Hindered in the past by her emotions, Azarenka no longer has midcourt meltdowns, muttering to herself or even dissolving in tears when she starts losing control of a match.
"I am also a year older and I behave more like a lady than a crazy kid," Azarenka said, adding that despite the transformation she will remain an emotional sort of player. "I will always play with my heart and with my passion."
* Associated Press
MEDIEVIL (1998)
Developer: SCE Studio Cambridge
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation, PlayStation 4 and 5
Rating: 3.5/5
Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
RESULTS
6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.
8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.
Juvenile arthritis
Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.
Du Football Champions
The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.
SPECS
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder petrol (V Class); electric motor with 60kW or 90kW powerpack (EQV)
Power: 233hp (V Class, best option); 204hp (EQV, best option)
Torque: 350Nm (V Class, best option); TBA (EQV)
On sale: Mid-2024
Price: TBA
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre, twin-turbo V6
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 410hp
Torque: 495Nm
Price: starts from Dh495,000 (Dh610,000 for the F-Sport launch edition tested)
On sale: now
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
The biog
Favourite Quote: “Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction emerge from its ashes,” by The late king Hussain of Jordan.
Favourite Hobby: Writing and cooking
Favourite Book: The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Fixtures - Open Men 2pm: India v New Zealand, Malaysia v UAE, Singapore v South Africa, Sri Lanka v England; 8pm: Australia v Singapore, India v Sri Lanka, England v Malaysia, New Zealand v South Africa
Fixtures - Open Women Noon: New Zealand v England, UAE v Australia; 6pm: England v South Africa, New Zealand v Australia
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
