Roger Federer and Ana Ivanovic will represent the UAE-based Royals team in this year's IPTL. (Don Emmert / AFP and Toru Yamanaka / AFP)
Roger Federer and Ana Ivanovic will represent the UAE-based Royals team in this year's IPTL. (Don Emmert / AFP and Toru Yamanaka / AFP)

Roger Federer and Ana Ivanovic join UAE Royals for second IPTL season



DUBAI // Roger Federer and Ana Ivanovic will lead the UAE Royals squad for the second season of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).

They will be joined by Goran Ivanisevic, Tomas Berdych, Kristina Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor in the franchise-based team competition that takes place during the ATP off-season.

World No 1 Novak Djokovic, who led the Royals last season, has moved to the Singapore Slammers.

The other teams in the competition will be holders Indian Aces, Singapore Slammers, Philippine Mavericks (formerly Manila Mavericks) and newcomers Japan Warriors who will be led by World No 4 Kei Nishikori.

The action begins on December 2 with the UAE leg from December 14-16 at the Dubai Aviation Club, having moved from the Hamdan Sports Complex.

New UAE Royals co-owner and captain of the India Test cricket team, Virat Kohli, said he was delighted at the inclusion of Federer, who last year represented Indian Aces.

“I am pleasantly delighted to be here. I’d like to thank the UAE Royals for making this happen,” Kohli said when the team was announced in Dubai. “When I look at the team, I think we should be winning this year.”

According to the competition’s format, each match consists of five sets; men’s singles, women’s singles, mixed doubles, men’s doubles and a men’s legends’ singles, with the order of play decided by the home team.

Serena Williams, the women's world No 1, leads the Philippine Mavericks while Rafael Nadal is the star attraction for the Indian Aces

This year final round will take place in Singapore.

Fixtures

Japan

December 2 – Japan Warriors v UAE Royals; Indian Aces v Singapore Slammers

December 3 – Japan Warriors v Singapore Slammers; Philippine Mavericks v UAE Royals

December 4 – Japan Warriors v Indian Aces; Philippine Mavericks v Singapore Slammers

Manila

December 6 – Philippine Mavericks v UAE Royals; Singapore Slammers v Japan Warriors

December 7 – Philippine Mavericks v Japan Warriors; Indian Aces v UAE Royals

December 8 – Philippine Mavericks v Indian Aces; UAE Royals v Singapore Slammers

New Delhi

December 10 – Indian Aces v Singapore Slammers; Japan Warriors v UAE Royals

December 11 – Indian Aces v Japan Warriors; Singapore Slammers v Philippine Mavericks

December 12 – Indian Aces v UAE Royals; Japan Warriors v Philippine Mavericks

Dubai

December 14 – UAE Royals v Philippine Mavericks; Indian Aces v Japan Warriors

December 15 – UAE Royals v Singapore Slammers; Philippine Mavericks v Indian Aces

December 16 – UAE Royals v Japan Warriors; Singapore Slammers v Indian Aces

Singapore

December 18 – Singapore Slammers v Philippine Mavericks; UAE Royals v Indian Aces

December 19 – Singapore Slammers v UAE Royals; Philippine Mavericks v Japan Warriors

December 20 - Final

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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

The Penguin

Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz

Creator: Lauren LeFranc

Rating: 4/5

The struggle is on for active managers

David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.

The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.

Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.

Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.

Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.

At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn. 

Did you know?

Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.

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Engine: 5.6-litre V8

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Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km

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THE APPRENTICE

Director: Ali Abbasi

Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong

Rating: 3/5

The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

Mina Cup winners

Under 12 – Minerva Academy

Under 14 – Unam Pumas

Under 16 – Fursan Hispania

Under 18 – Madenat

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TOUCH RULES

Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.

Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.

Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.

A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.

After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.

At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.

A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.

 

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Founded: 2013

Based: Egypt, Cairo

Sector: IT

Employees: 100

Stage: Series A

Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors

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The Specs

Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
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England's lowest Test innings

- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887

- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994

- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009

- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948

- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888

- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018

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