MONACO // Rafael Nadal's eight-year reign at the Monte Carlo Masters ended on Sunday as the Spaniard lost 6-2, 7-6 to top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the final.
Nadal won his 46 previous matches at Monte Carlo - beating Djokovic in last year's final - and his last defeat here was against Guillermo Coria, 10 years ago.
The Spaniard missed the 2004 tournament through injury before winning his first Monte Carlo title the following year.
Nadal then beat Roger Federer in the next three finals. His eight straight titles were an ATP record for one tournament.
Djokovic faced Nadal for the 16th time in a championship decider, and they are now 8-8 in finals. Nadal had won the previous three, including the French Open final last year.
"Rafa, thank you for allowing me to win it once," Djokovic said. "I couldn't ask for a better start to the clay season."
Nadal dropped one set on the way to the final - to Grigor Dimitrov - while Djokovic dropped two, having been doubtful to even play after twisting his ankle in Davis Cup competition two weeks ago.
"I didn't know I would be a part of the tournament this year ... [it's] the best decision I ever made in my life," Djokovic said.
Nadal looked well set to take the match to a third set after opening up a 4-2 lead in the second, but his serve let him down. Especially in the 12th game, when Djokovic broke him to love to take the momentum back heading into the tie-break.
Djokovic sealed the victory on his first match point with another booming forehand winner and then held his head in hands and looked skyward and talking to himself for a few seconds - last year, Djokovic's grandfather died during the tournament but he carried on playing to reach the final - before dropping to the ground and kissing the clay.
After a brief shower, the match started with a delay of around 45 minutes, and the Serb raced ahead 5-0 in just 25 minutes.
Neither player has won a set 6-0 against the other in 34 meetings, but Djokovic came very close before Nadal summoned up the strength to save five break points in the sixth game.
Nadal has reached five consecutive finals since returning from a knee injury in February - winning three, and losing two - while Australian Open champion Djokovic won his third title of the year and 37th overall.
"Congratulations ... good luck for the rest of the season," Nadal told Djokovic at the awards ceremony.
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Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
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Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
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Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
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The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
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