PARIS// Venus Williams insists that just playing in this year's French Open is an achievement - after illness almost wrecked her Olympic dreams.
The 31-year-old American was sidelined until March this year after being diagnosed with energy-sapping Sjogren's Syndrome.
As she fought to recover, her ranking slipped to 134 in the world, before she rekindled her hopes of making the London Olympics with impressive quarter-final runs in Miami, Charleston and Rome.
"It's a huge accomplishment just to be here. The biggest challenge was to learn how to live with it and that the key is to be here and to try my best right now," said Williams.
"Sometimes I think is this all my fault. Did I do something wrong to cause it?"
Yesterday she battled back from a set down to defeat Argentine teenager Paula Ormaechea 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 and reach the second round at Roland Garros.
Williams, seven-times a Grand Slam title winner and runner-up here to Serena in 2002, faces either Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska or Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia for a place in the third round.
The American has tasted Olympic success before, winning the singles in Sydney in 2000 where she also teamed up with sister Serena to take the women's doubles.
The sisters won a second doubles in Beijing in 2008.
Coming into Paris, Williams was well-placed to claim a spot at the London Olympics where the tennis tournament will be staged at Wimbledon, scene of five of her seven Grand Slam wins in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008.
Each nation can have a maximum of four players in their team at the Games but with a ranking cut-off of 56.
Venus is currently 53, with only Serena, at five in the world, and Christine McHale, at 36, above her.
Ranking places at the end of Roland Garros, where Williams didn't play last year and therefore has no points to defend, will decide the Olympics line-up.
"My main goal is the Olympics. If I reach that then I will be home free — you might not see me again," she smiled.
"I would love to play doubles here with Serena but my goal was to peak in singles for the Olympics. All of my energies are towards that."
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Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Scoreline
UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia
UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’
Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’
Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)
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Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
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Don't get fined
The UAE FTA requires following to be kept:
- Records of all supplies and imports of goods and services
- All tax invoices and tax credit notes
- Alternative documents related to receiving goods or services
- All tax invoices and tax credit notes
- Alternative documents issued
- Records of goods and services that have been disposed of or used for matters not related to business
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
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Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Power: 272hp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 331Nm from 5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.7L/100km
On sale: now
Price: Dh149,000
