BELGRADE, Serbia // World No 2 Novak Djokovic took his season's win-loss record to 27-0 last night when he defeated Spain's Feliciano Lopez 7-6, 6-2 to win the Serbia Open clay-court title.
Top seed Djokovic's fifth title of 2011 adds to his victories at the Australian Open, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Indian Wells and Miami.
The 23-year-old, who also won the Belgrade title in 2009, now stands just two wins away from equalling Ivan Lendl's record of a 29-0 winning season start, set in 1986.
In a final interrupted by rain, the Australian Open champion was made to battle for 73 minutes to wrap up the first set on a tie-break after saving six break points in all.
"You people make it worth to come back to this city and play and hope for the victories," said Djokovic, who led Serbia's Davis Cup team to its first ever victory last year.
Lopez failed to take advantage of seven break points during the match. He had the first two early in the first set at 2-2, sending the ball into the net and allowing Djokovic to win the game with an ace and a deep forehand into the corner.
Lopez had another chance to break in the first set at 4-4 but sent the ball out, and Djokovic comfortably won the tie-breaker.
"I had a dream last night that I will be a hero and the first to beat him this year, but I realised it was very hard," Lopez said.
Djokovic broke twice in the second set and conceded no points in the final game. The Serbian has, in fact, won his past 29 matches, including the Davis Cup win, with his last defeat coming against Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals in November.
World No 37 Lopez hit form on his debut in Belgrade, upsetting two seeded players in No 8 Juan Monaco and fourth seed Albert Montanes, as well as former world No 5 Fernando Gonzalez, to reach his seventh career final.
The 29-year-old Madrid left-hander came into Belgrade on the back of a quarter-final showing in Barcelona, but in his preceding nine tour-level tournaments he had won back-to-back matches just once.
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
SPEC SHEET: SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD5
Main display: 7.6" QXGA+ Dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity Flex, 2176 x 1812, 21.6:18, 374ppi, HDR10+, up to 120Hz
Cover display: 6.2" HD+ Dynamic Amoled 2X, 2316 x 904, 23.1:9, 402ppi, up to 120Hz
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 4nm, octa-core; Adreno 740 GPU
Memory: 12GB
Capacity: 256/512GB / 1TB (online exclusive)
Platform: Android 13, One UI 5.1.1
Main camera: Triple 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) + 50MP wide (f/1.8) + 10MP telephoto (f/2.4), dual OIS, 3x optical zoom, 30x Space Zoom, portrait, super slo-mo
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60/240fps, HD@960fps; slo-mo@60/240/960fps; HDR10+
Cover camera: 10MP (f/2.2)
Inner front camera: Under-display 4MP (f/1.8)
Battery: 4400mAh, 25W fast charging, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless
Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC (Samsung Pay)
I/O: USB-C
Cards: Nano-SIM + eSIM; dual nano-SIMs + eSIM
Colours: Cream, icy blue, phantom black; online exclusives – blue, grey
In the box: Fold5, USB-C-to-USB-C cable
Price: Dh6,799 / Dh7,249 / Dh8,149
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
WHAT IS THE LICENSING PROCESS FOR VARA?
Vara will cater to three categories of companies in Dubai (except the DIFC):
Category A: Minimum viable product (MVP) applicants that are currently in the process of securing an MVP licence: This is a three-stage process starting with [1] a provisional permit, graduating to [2] preparatory licence and concluding with [3] operational licence. Applicants that are already in the MVP process will be advised by Vara to either continue within the MVP framework or be transitioned to the full market product licensing process.
Category B: Existing legacy virtual asset service providers prior to February 7, 2023, which are required to come under Vara supervision. All operating service proviers in Dubai (excluding the DIFC) fall under Vara’s supervision.
Category C: New applicants seeking a Vara licence or existing applicants adding new activities. All applicants that do not fall under Category A or B can begin the application process through their current or prospective commercial licensor — the DET or Free Zone Authority — or directly through Vara in the instance that they have yet to determine the commercial operating zone in Dubai.
The Specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 118hp
Torque: 149Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Price: From Dh61,500
On sale: Now
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
FIVE TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE UAE BANKING
• The digitisation of financial services will continue
• Managing and using data effectively will become a competitive advantage
• Digitisation will require continued adjustment of operating models
• Banks will expand their role in the customer life through ecosystems
• The structure of the sector will change
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Getting there and where to stay
Fly with Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi to New York’s JFK. There's 11 flights a week and economy fares start at around Dh5,000.
Stay at The Mark Hotel on the city’s Upper East Side. Overnight stays start from $1395 per night.
Visit NYC Go, the official destination resource for New York City for all the latest events, activites and openings.
RESULTS
5pm: Al Bateen – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: Ma’Aly Al Shahania, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)
5.30pm: Al Khaleej – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Rami, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Bant Al Emarat, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud
6.30pm: Al Nahyan – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Rasam, Marcelino Rodrigues, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Al Karamah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Zafaranah, Bernardo Pinheiro, Musabah Al Muhairi
7.30pm: Al Salam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Nibras Passion, Tadhg O’Shea, Ismail Mohammed
