Andy Murray, right, is a two-time finalist at the Australian Open.
Andy Murray, right, is a two-time finalist at the Australian Open.

Andy Murray wins but Andy Roddick crashes out of Australian Open



MELBOURNE // Andy Roddick's attempt to win another grand slam title nearly a decade after his first ended on Thursday at the Australian Open when he had to retire from his second-round match due to injury.

Roddick, whose only major win came at the 2003 US Open, was trailing fellow former No 1-ranked player Lleyton Hewitt 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 when he called the trainer to his courtside chair. He then walked over to Hewitt and shook the Australian player's hand, unable to continue after sustained what appeared to be a leg injury in the opening set.

"It's a nightmare for both of us, obviously he stretched something, I don't know what," Hewitt said. "It's not easy for the person up the other end of the court. It's hard to concentrate when they're having injury timeouts. You know he's hurting but I've got to try and block that out as much as possible and that's not easy to do."

Roddick had fallen to the court during the first set, but continued despite being in obvious pain.

Hewitt, who has won two major titles and was a finalist here in 2005, will play Canada's Milos Raonic in the third round.

Top-seeded Novak Djokovic advanced earlier on Thursday, overcoming an early service break against Santiago Giraldo in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 victory at Melbourne Park.

"I maybe started a little too defensive because he was hitting the ball very strong," said Djokovic, who won three of the four majors last year. "But then after, it was the other way around."

A title this month would put him in select company. Only four players – Laver, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – have won three straight grand slam singles tournaments, and Djokovic could join them following his wins at last year's Wimbledon and US Open.

Second-seeded Nadal and third-seeded Federer, who are in the other half of the draw here, play back-to-back matches at Rod Laver Arena on Friday.

Fourth-seeded Andy Murray, who lost to Djokovic in the final here last year, also advanced on Thursday, beating Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Murray is playing his first grand slam tournament since hiring eight-time major champion Ivan Lendl as his coach.

"It's been good, he's obviously one of the greatest players ever," Murray said. "He's got so much experience and he's very funny guy. You wouldn't probably expect it by the way he was on the court, similar to myself."

Earlier, five-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams notched her 500th career singles victory when she beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-0, 6-4 to advance to the third round. The left ankle she badly sprained two weeks ago wasn't an issue.

"It's totally fine. It was my good ankle, so I'm good," she said.

Williams won the Australian Open in 2009 and 2010, but did not defend her title in 2011 because she was injured.

Her older sister, Venus, has a win-loss record of 589-147, but is missing the Australian Open to recover from illness.

"I knew I had to get there too, because I do everything she does," said Williams, "It's great, it's like the ultimate."

Not quite. Martina Navratilova had a career record 1,442-219, and Chris Evert retired with a 1,309-146 win-loss mark.

"I never will get there either, but it's really cool," Williams said. "Five hundred is a lot of matches to play, let alone to win."

With top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki on an off-day, No 2 Petra Kvitova moved into the third round with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win over Carla Suarez Navarro. Kvitova, who lost in the first round at the US Open in the first major after winning Wimbledon, was down a service break in the third before recovering to beat the Spaniard.

"In the beginning it was OK, but I made many, many, many mistakes," Kvitova said of her 48 unforced errors. "It's part of my game but it's too many. It was very tough to get back in the third set."

Maria Sharapova, one of the three former champions in the women's draw, reached the third round after just two hours on court in two matches. The 2008 champion had a 6-0, 6-1 second-round win over US qualifier Jamie Hampton in 64 minutes.

Sharapova did not play in any warm-up events and spent nearly two weeks in Melbourne ahead of the season's first major while she rested an injured left ankle.

"It was more about getting my feet going ... worrying about myself," Sharapova said. "Yeah, started my preparations in the offseason a little late, took a bit of extra time in practice instead of rushing into a tournament."

She will meet No 30 Angelique Kerber, who beat Canada's Stephanie Dubois 7-5, 6-1.

Seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva, a two-time semi-finalist at Melbourne Park, had a 6-1, 7-6 over Lucie Hradecka.

No 21 Ana Ivanovic also advanced, beating Dutch player Michaella Krajicek 6-2, 6-3.

Ninth-seeded Marion Bartoli beat local hope and former quarter-finalist Jelena Dokic 6-3, 6-3 and No 27 Maria Kirilenko of Russia topped Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. Former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova beat American Sloane Stephens 7-6, 7-5.

Three seeded players were beaten: No 23 Roberta Vinci lost to China's Zheng Jie, No 29 Nadia Petrova fell to Sara Errani and No 25 Kaia Kanepi lost to Ekaterina Makarova.

In the men's draw, sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who lost the 2008 final to Djokovic, advanced 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 over Ricardo Mello of Brazil, while No 5 David Ferrer struggled early against American Ryan Sweeting before coming back to win 6-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

No 9 Janko Tipsarevic, No. 23 Milos Raonic of Canada, No. 24 Kei Nishikori of Japan and No. 27 Juan Ignacio Chela also progressed. Frenchman Michael Llodra beat No. 32 Alex Bogomolov Jr 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 5-7, 6-4 and Portugal's Frederico Gil beat No 26 Marcel Granollers in four sets.

In a night match, No 14 Gael Monfils beat Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 2-6, 6-0, 6-4, 6-2 and will play Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazkakhstan in the third round. Kukushkin earlier beat No 19 Viktor Troicki of Serbia 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

RESULTS

Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18

Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14

World%20Food%20Day%20
%3Cp%3ECelebrated%20on%20October%2016%2C%20to%20coincide%20with%20the%20founding%20date%20of%20the%20United%20Nations%20Food%20and%20Agriculture%20Organisation%2C%20World%20Food%20Day%20aims%20to%20tackle%20issues%20such%20as%20hunger%2C%20food%20security%2C%20food%20waste%20and%20the%20environmental%20impact%20of%20food%20production.%20%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20profile
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Result

UAE (S. Tagliabue 90 1') 1-2 Uzbekistan (Shokhruz Norkhonov 48', 86')

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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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.

A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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Company%20Profile
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%E2%80%98FSO%20Safer%E2%80%99%20-%20a%20ticking%20bomb
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Dubai World Cup Carnival card

6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m

7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m

7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m

8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m

8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m

9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m

10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m

The National selections:

6.30pm - Ziyadd; 7.05pm - Barney Roy; 7.40pm - Dee Ex Bee; 8.15pm - Dubai Legacy; 8.50pm - Good Fortune; 9.25pm - Drafted; 10pm - Simsir

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Khaldoon%20Bushnaq%20and%20Tariq%20Seksek%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Global%20Market%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20100%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20to%20date%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2415%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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 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

The Greatest Royal Rumble card

50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias

Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match

WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura

Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe

United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal

SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos

Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt

Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev

Singles match John Cena v Triple H

Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

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