Roger Federer had to return another day to beat Federico Delbonis. Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Reuters
Roger Federer had to return another day to beat Federico Delbonis. Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Reuters
Roger Federer had to return another day to beat Federico Delbonis. Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Reuters
Roger Federer had to return another day to beat Federico Delbonis. Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Reuters

Victorious Roger Federer understands Novak Djokovic's struggles after Serb crashes out of Indian Wells tennis tournament


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World No 1 Roger Federer finished off Federico Delbonis in a rain-disrupted match on Sunday to reach the third round at Indian Wells as five-time champion Novak Djokovic was toppled.

Federer returned to stadium court on Sunday afternoon and needed an hour to finish off his second round victory 6-3, 7-6. "It's been a long time since I have been interrupted at night and have to come back the next day," Federer said.

His title defence got off to a soggy start on Saturday night when play was suspended because of rain showers with Federer up a set and tied 2-2 in the second.

The clouds rolled in just before the start of their match on Saturday and after a short delay to start the first set they managed to play until the skies blackened and the heavy rains came in the second. After another 90-minute delay organisers suspended play for the night.

Federer is making his 17th appearance in the California desert and is assured of remaining world No 1 if he makes it to the semi-finals. He extended his 2018 win streak to 13 matches and has only dropped three sets from 34 played this year.

Federer hit five aces and won 74 per cent of his first serve points in the match which took a total of one hour and 41 minutes over the two days. He started quickly hammering a backhand winner to take the lone break of the first set and he would deny a pair of break chances when serving for the opener at 5-3.

In the tiebreaker, Federer took a 5-2 lead but Delbonis battled back to win a long rally and tie it 5-5. He won the final three points to take the match by forcing Delbonis to dump all three of those shots into the net.

Federer will face 25th-seed Filip Krajinovic in the third round. He and 10th seed Djokovic both came into the tournament seeking to become the first six-time winner of the event.

But Djokovic fell at the first hurdle with a shock loss to Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel. Daniel sent an out-of-sorts Djokovic tumbling with a hard-fought 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 victory.

It was another snag in the return for the world No 13 Djokovic who conceded he lacked composure while playing in just his second event of 2018 and first since having surgery.

"For me it felt like first match I ever played on the tour. Very weird," Djokovic said. "I mean, I just completely lost rhythm, everything. Just struggled also a little bit with the health the last couple of weeks."

The Serb is making a cautious return to the ATP Tour after stopping his 2017 season following Wimbledon, due to a right elbow injury. He lost to Chung Hyeon in the Australian Open fourth round in January before undergoing the surgery.

Djokovic scrambled to win the second set on Sunday but the rust from the layoff was evident as he made 62 unforced errors compared to 29 for Daniel. He had four aces but served poorly overall making four double faults and winning just 65 percent of his first-serve points.

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Read more

Serena Williams is not happy to face her sister Venus at Indians Wells

Maria Sharapova splits with coach Sven Groeneveld after her defeat

Roger Federer seeks revenge against Federico Delbonis in California

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Novak Djokovic struggled during his second-round match against Taro Daniel. Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Reuters
Novak Djokovic struggled during his second-round match against Taro Daniel. Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Reuters

Federer said he understands well how even a champion like Djokovic could be struggling to find his game so soon after having surgery.

"To me, it's not that surprising," he said. "When you go away from the game for over a two-month period it starts feeling a little bit that way. When you do come back from injury or when you haven't played in a long time, it just takes extra effort.

"It is still early stages for Novak coming back and the first one after surgery. He's only going to get better from here."

Daniel, who is ranked 109th in the world, advanced to the third round where he will face Gael Monfils of France who outlasted American John Isner 6-7, 7-6, 7-5.

In other men's matches, David Ferrer of Spain defeated Tennys Sandgren of the US 6-2, 7-6.

Indian origin executives leading top technology firms

Sundar Pichai

Chief executive, Google and Alphabet

Satya Nadella

Chief executive, Microsoft

Ajaypal Singh Banga

President and chief executive, Mastercard

Shantanu Narayen

Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe

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Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo

 

 

The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer

Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000

Engine 3.6L V6

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm

Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km

Tips to stay safe during hot weather
  • Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
  • Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
  • Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
  • Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
  • Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
  • Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
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The low down

Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films

Director: Namrata Singh Gujral

Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark

Rating: 2/5

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Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence

Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads

Stage: 1 ($800,000)

Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC

 

Venom

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed

Rating: 1.5/5

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It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

World Cricket League Division 2

In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.

UAE fixtures

Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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