Rafael Nadal of Spain defeated Kei Nishikori of Japan in the first round.
Rafael Nadal of Spain defeated Kei Nishikori of Japan in the first round.

Nadal is smooth in return to Wimbledon



LONDON // Rafael Nadal looked like he had never been away as he made a welcome return to Wimbledon with a ruthless victory yesterday over Kei Nishikori, the Japanese wildcard. The Spanish world No 1 missed out on defending his title last June as he nursed his aching knees back home in Mallorca. On the second day of the championships, he was back on a sun-soaked Centre Court and wasted little time in tormenting an opponent whom he had once tipped as a 'future top 10 player'.

The 20-year-old Nishikori, on a comeback trail after missing most of the 2009 season with an elbow injury, had the audacity to break Nadal for 3-3 in the third set but his joy was short-lived. Nishikori, whose ranking has dropped to 189 since his injury, saved four break points in the next game but had no answer to a superb backhand from Nadal on a fifth. Nadal, who sprang from his chair even before the umpire had finished saying 'Time' at every change of ends, powered to victory with an overhead smash on match point to finish in just over two hours.

"It is always special to play on this court so I am very happy to come back to this tournament and play on probably the most beautiful and most emblematic court in the world," Nadal told a news conference. Asked if he was nervous about possibly playing his second-round match against Robin Haase in front of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who will attend the tournament for the first time in 33 years tomorrow , Nadal shrugged.

"I would love to have the chance to say hello to her but that's it," he said, before adding in Spanish: "I would love to have a photo with her." Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, meanwhile, has so far saved his best tennis for the hard courts of the Australian Open. He now hopes to make his mark at Wimbledon. The French No 1 said he was still learning his trade on the Wimbledon grass after battling past Robert Kendrick, the big-serving American qualifier, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 yesterday. The 25-year-old, seeded 10, is making only his third appearance at the All England club following his debut in 2007 when he reached the fourth round.

"Robert is a very good player. I knew before the match it would be difficult, and it was," Tsonga said after withstanding a barrage of 28 aces from Kendrick. Robin Soderling breezed into the second round with a rapid 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Robby Ginepri. The Swedish sixth seed has never gone beyond the last 16 in seven previous visits to the All England Club but his total dominance of Ginepri, the world No 72, more than hinted he could progress further this year.

Andy Murray, seeded fourth, overcame a nervy start to ease through to the second round, his class finally telling in a 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Jan Hajek, the unheralded Czech. James Blake, a former world No 4, said he was considering his future in the sport after an "embarrassing" defeat at the hands of Robin Haase, a Dutchman. The 30-year-old was a shadow of his former dashing self in a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 defeat - his second consecutive first-round defeat at Wimbledon.

Samantha Stosur, the French Open runner-up, will play no further part in the tournament after exiting at the first-round stage for the fourth time in eight appearances at the All England Club. The sixth-seeded Stosur lost to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, the 80th-ranked qualifier, 6-4, 6-4. Serena Williams has promised Queen Elizabeth a curtsy "she'll definitely never forget" tomorrow but the Wimbledon champion will not be tempted into wearing an outrageous outfit.

Serena sailed through the first round yesterday, despatching Portuguese teenager Michelle Larcher de Brito 6-0, 6-4 in just over an hour. "I was going to curtsy today on the court afterwards but I think I flubbed it. So I am definitely going to work on it a little bit more." * Agencies

Drishyam 2

Directed by: Jeethu Joseph

Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy

Rating: 4 stars

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES

UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)

  • Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs 
  • Thursday 20 January: v England 
  • Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh 

UAE squad:

Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith  

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.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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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
The bio

His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell

His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard

Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece

Favourite movie - The Last Emperor

Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great

Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos

 

 

Biography

Favourite drink: Must have karak chai and Chinese tea every day

Favourite non-Chinese food: Arabic sweets and Indian puri, small round bread of wheat flour

Favourite Chinese dish: Spicy boiled fish or anything cooked by her mother because of its flavour

Best vacation: Returning home to China

Music interests: Enjoys playing the zheng, a string musical instrument

Enjoys reading: Chinese novels, romantic comedies, reading up on business trends, government policy changes

Favourite book: Chairman Mao Zedong’s poems

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

WWE Super ShowDown results

Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title

Finn Balor defeated Andrade to stay WWE Intercontinental Championship

Shane McMahon defeated Roman Reigns

Lars Sullivan won by disqualification against Lucha House Party

Randy Orton beats Triple H

Braun Strowman beats Bobby Lashley

Kofi Kingston wins against Dolph Zigggler to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal

The Undertaker beat Goldberg

 

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

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THE SPECS

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Power: 420kW

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South and West: From a Notebook
Joan Didion
Fourth Estate 

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

'Ashkal'
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Last five meetings

2013: South Korea 0-2 Brazil

2002: South Korea 2-3 Brazil

1999: South Korea 1-0 Brazil

1997: South Korea 1-2 Brazil

1995: South Korea 0-1 Brazil

Note: All friendlies

War and the virus
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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