Andy Murray, the world No 3, was at full stretch against Robert Kendrick in his first-round match.
Andy Murray, the world No 3, was at full stretch against Robert Kendrick in his first-round match.

Murray shoulders hopes of a nation



LONDON // Andy Murray was in no doubt as he prepared his powerful challenge for Wimbledon glory that he could not expect much help shouldering the massive weight of expectation of the home nation this year. The young Scot knew he was pretty much a solitary standard bearer but even he could not have envisaged being left to fly the British flag on his own so early in the Championships.

But for a last-gasp reprieve in the gathering gloom of Tuesday night provided by his fellow Scot Elena Baltacha there would have been a complete first-round wipe-out of Murray's supporting cast in the two main events. "It's not acceptable," said Murray in a bold shot at the bows of his governing Lawn Tennis Association as he was asked to comment on the casualty list of six Brits in a single day, making this their joint worst Wimbledon in the open era.

A Murray triumph on the final Sunday will, of course, transform that debacle into his country's best Wimbledon since Virginia Wade's 1977 women's singles triumph "Whether there are 10 Brits or one I have to take care of my own business," reflected the world No 3. There was a stage during his nervy Centre Court opener against American Robert Kendrick when Murray was in danger of not taking enough care of himself.

His anxiety transmitted to the home faithful sitting around the court and the hordes gathered on the rechristened Murray Mount - formerly Henman's Hill - after he allowed his 76th-rated opponent to draw level at one set all. The crisis was mercifully brief and Murray recomposed himself to go through in four sets and regroup for the tougher tasks ahead, beginning with today's encounter with Latvia's Ernests Gulbis, ranked two places higher than Kendrick on the world computer.

"I've got a very tough opponent next," said Murray, one of the most thorough players on tour when it comes to doing homework on rivals. "Gulbis has caused some upsets in the past and is a huge hitter of the ball. I'm going to need to be on my game to beat him." That means a considerable improvement is required from the level he reached against Kendrick but Murray is not fazed by that as he sets his sights on what would be a mouth-watering final against the five-time winner Roger Federer.

"I'd have to play some great tennis from now on to get there," he said. "Obviously I've got to win five more matches, and they're going to get tougher every round. "I know what I need to do to get there but I'm not going to start worrying about reaching the final just yet." Andy Roddick knows what it takes to reach a final here - he has lost two of them to Roger Federer - and the American looks set to go far again this year as he and the tall Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro look the most likely contenders to face Murray in the semi-final.

Roddick was well fancied to meet Murray in the final of the Wimbledon warm-up tournament at Queen's Club until retiring with an ankle injury midway through his semi-final against James Blake. He dismissed that fitness problem as "not worth talking about" after his opening-round victory over France's Jeremy Chardy. The sixth-seeded American looks to have an easier assignment today than the fifth-seeded Del Potro, who seeks to find away past the rejuvenated former champion Lleyton Hewitt in what is the pick of today's match-ups.

Hewitt was justifiably buoyant after making short work of the experienced American Robby Ginepri and the Australian enthused: "I was able to dictate when I wanted to. My serve picked up and I felt like I was in all of his service games, which was good. My rhythm's been good in practice. It's a matter of just keeping that going." Regarding his first meeting with the powerful Del Potro, Hewitt commented: "He's a class player. He was only a couple of points from maybe winning the French Open a couple of weeks ago.

"It's a different surface here and He hasn't had the best success on it. But, he's an all-court player and he's got a big game. It's going to be a good challenge." @Email:wjohnson@thenational.ae

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Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company

MATCH INFO

Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')

Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)

Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

Champion%20v%20Champion%20(PFL%20v%20Bellator)
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Herc's Adventures

Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
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Company%20profile
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)

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 specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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MATCH INFO

Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')

Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')

The specs

Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Power: 575bhp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: Dh554,000

On sale: now

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

Queen

Nicki Minaj

(Young Money/Cash Money)

How Voiss turns words to speech

The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen

The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser

This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen

A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB

The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free

Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards

Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser

Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages

At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness

More than 90 per cent live in developing countries

The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device

Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

Jawan
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Three trading apps to try

Sharad Nair recommends three investment apps for UAE residents:

  • For beginners or people who want to start investing with limited capital, Mr Nair suggests eToro. “The low fees and low minimum balance requirements make the platform more accessible,” he says. “The user interface is straightforward to understand and operate, while its social element may help ease beginners into the idea of investing money by looking to a virtual community.”
  • If you’re an experienced investor, and have $10,000 or more to invest, consider Saxo Bank. “Saxo Bank offers a more comprehensive trading platform with advanced features and insight for more experienced users. It offers a more personalised approach to opening and operating an account on their platform,” he says.
  • Finally, StashAway could work for those who want a hands-off approach to their investing. “It removes one of the biggest challenges for novice traders: picking the securities in their portfolio,” Mr Nair says. “A goal-based approach or view towards investing can help motivate residents who may usually shy away from investment platforms.”
'Nope'
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MATCH INFO

Delhi Daredevils 174-4 (20 ovs)
Mumbai Indians 163 (19.3 ovs)

Delhi won the match by 11 runs

Huddersfield Town permanent signings:

  • Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
  • Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
  • Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
  • Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
  • Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
  • Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
  • Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
  • Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
EMILY%20IN%20PARIS%3A%20SEASON%203
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The specs

Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder

Power: 220 and 280 horsepower

Torque: 350 and 360Nm

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT 

On sale: now

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 325bhp

Torque: 450Nm

Price: Dh289,000

Company%20Profile
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