Sports romances are a slippery business. “Congratulations, kids!” often is followed by, “But what about your career?”
This is germane again following the New Year’s Day Twitter announcement by Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki, that they are engaged to be married.
Could this be the beginning of the end of Wozniacki as a force in professional tennis? It may be unkind but she has not been the same player since her romance with the Northern Irishman began, in the summer of 2011.
Back then, the Dane was in the eighth month of a 47-week stretch when she was No 1 in the world. She had won her sixth event of the year at New Haven on August 27 and, at age 21, already had won 18 WTA championships.
She was known for never having won a grand slam, but most thought she would. Instead, her form has declined.
She won only 32 of her first 50 matches in 2012. She lost the No 1 ranking to Victoria Azarenka after the Australian Open and went out in the third round, the first round and the first round, respectively, in the other three majors. The later dismissal, at the US Open, saw her drop out of the top 10 for the first time in three years.
She won twice late in the year to climb back to No 10.
She won one title in 2013 and did not survive the fourth round in a grand slam. She again finished the year at No 10.
Granted, she had injury issues at times during the past two years. A baulky knee has been cited. Her 2014 debut was backed up a week because of a sore shoulder.
Yesterday, she played her first match of 2014, defeating Julia Georges at the Sydney International 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, which is a promising start. She needs to be at her best soon; the Australian Open is next week.
Marriages and engagements for tennis players, in midcareer, often have not worked out; distance and training schedules can cause problems.
Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors were engaged but never married; ditto, Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters. Martina Hingis and Radek Stepanek did not work out.
Others have fared better, perhaps because it was clear whose career needed to be nurtured. Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec married in 2002 and are together still, but Mirka’s career was over because of injuries. Steffi Graf had retired by the time she married Andre Agassi.
History seems to suggest only one spouse can remain at the top of their sport and, in the case of “Wozilroy”, it is Wozniacki who is giving way. Perhaps it is a sacrifice she is willing to make.
poberjuerge@thenational.ae
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Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
RACECARD
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England squads for Test and T20 series against New Zealand
Test squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes
T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Pat Brown, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, James Vince
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
Manchester United v Club America
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
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