Andy Roddick today became the biggest male casualty of this year's French Open after suffering a crushing third-round defeat to Teimuraz Gabashvili.
Sixth seed Roddick's game was dismantled by the world No 114 Gabashvili, who completed an embarrassingly straightforward 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win in just one hour 56 minutes on Suzanne Lenglen Court.
Roddick, who reached his third Wimbledon final last year after achieving a career-best run to round four at Roland Garros, saw his normally imperious serve broken four times by the Georgia-born Russian.
The 27-year-old's defeat will go down as one of the big shocks of this year's tournament, although the American did struggle to reach the third round after missing the entire clay-court season this year.
Russia's Gabashvili will go on to play either Jurgen Melzer or David Ferrer.
When the 25-year-old secured the crucial break in the seventh game of the opening set, Roddick threw his racket towards his entourage in frustration.
The American refused to use the court as an excuse, despite having lost five straight matches on the notoriously slow Suzanne Lenglen. "It's a fun court as far as people viewing, and I have no issue with it," he said.
"It's just the way that it plays doesn't really help me out much. That's all. That's fine.
"There are courts like that everywhere. You have to deal with it and you have to play through it."
Roddick did, however, take issue with the court covers, the management of which saw him involved in several tense exchanges with the umpire.
He said: "They dry the whole court, but then they leave the tarps soaking wet.
"If a ball rolls through a puddle enough times, can you tell me what happens to it? Then when clay attaches to it, it doesn't get lighter.
"It's something that I've been pretty adamant about complaining about behind closed doors for a long time, you know.
"The umpire said too me, 'Well, it happens every year'. I'm going, 'Is that supposed to make me feel better?' I didn't understand that logic."
Mikhail Youzhny needed just five games to complete a 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 6-3 over Viktor Troicki, which resumed after being postponed last night.
The 11th seed will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in round four tomorrow.
* PA
RESULTS
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Brraq, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Jean-Claude Pecout (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Taamol, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Eqtiraan, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Soft Whisper, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Etisalat, Sando Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
More from Aya Iskandarani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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Fixtures
Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs
Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms
Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles
Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon
Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
