ABU DHABI // Andy Murray, the young Scotsman, claimed a thrilling victory over the world No 1 Rafael Nadal in the final of the Capitala World Tennis Championship last night.
Murray won a hard-fought match lasting two hours and 45 minutes at the Zayed Sports City Stadium.
The match brought to a close three days of top-quality tennis, played in front of a 5,000-strong capacity crowd, which left a worldwide television audience in no doubt that the UAE capital is now on the tennis map.
An exhausted Murray, who won the final 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, praised the crowd for giving him a memorable first visit to Abu Dhabi.
"The atmosphere over the last three days has been really amazing," he said. "It's been so much fun to come here."
All six players who were invited to the US$250,000 (Dh918,260), winner-takes-all showpiece said they were enthralled by their first visit to the capital.
Their views were best summed up by Roger Federer, the Swiss player, who spends much of his spare time at his Dubai residence but until now had never been to Abu Dhabi.
Federer, who dominated world tennis for more than four years before being deposed as the top-ranked player by Nadal last summer, said: "I wanted the tournament to be my first impression of Abu Dhabi. It has been a great experience.
"The weather here is always perfect and the people are very friendly. I hope I am invited back next year. If I am I will certainly accept. It is a terrific way to start a new year, even though I lost the only match I played here. That's a pity but it didn't spoil things for me."
The match was attended by senior members of the Abu Dhabi Government.
Peter Wilding, the deputy CEO of title sponsor Capitala, was delighted with the successful launch of what the developer intends to be an annual event.
"One of our aims has been to encourage more people, particularly schoolchildren and young adults, to participate actively in this game as well as other sports. With the success of initiatives such as the Capitala Community Cup and tennis clinics, we believe that we have made real progress in starting this journey with the people of Abu Dhabi," he said.
John Lickrish, the managing director of the tournament organisers, Flash, said: "The Abu Dhabi World Tennis Championship is without doubt one of our most exciting initiatives to date. As the first international tennis event in Abu Dhabi, it is a key part of the city's emergence as a sport and leisure destination."
wjohnson@thenational.ae
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
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How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
Anti-semitic attacks
The annual report by the Community Security Trust, which advises the Jewish community on security , warned on Thursday that anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had reached a record high.
It found there had been 2,255 anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2021, a rise of 34 per cent from the previous year.
The report detailed the convictions of a number of people for anti-Semitic crimes, including one man who was jailed for setting up a neo-Nazi group which had encouraged “the eradication of Jewish people” and another who had posted anti-Semitic homemade videos on social media.
