Last week, Fabio Fognini, the mercurial tennis player from Italy, had a friendly, but rather reckless, wager with his family and, not surprisingly, he lost.
“I thought Nole [Novak Djokovic] would beat Rafa [Rafael Nadal],” Fognini revealed ahead of this week’s Rome Masters. “Now I will have to take them [his family] out for dinner as they had picked Rafa to win the [Madrid] title.”
Fognini is a rather feisty character and prone to making a few injudicious calls, at least on the tennis courts. But not many would fault him for picking Djokovic to win last week's Madrid Masters semi-final against Nadal. Stats, at least the most recent ones, were loaded heavily in favour of the Serb, who had won their past seven duels, three of which were on clay. And all seven of those matches were straight-sets affairs.
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Read more
■ Madrid Masters: Rafael Nadal beats a game Dominic Thiem in final
■ Barcelona Open: King of clay keeps 'dream start' going with 10th Barcelona title
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So, did Nadal really stand a chance against Djokovic, the reigning French Open champion? Fognini, at least, did not think so. He was probably one of many. But then, Nadal is one of a kind – one who loves shredding all those farewells that have been written for him over the years, one who has a habit of mocking naysayers from the early days of his career, when, upon the discovery of a congenital deformity, he was told his career was over before it had even begun.
Nadal, less than three weeks away from his 31st birthday on June 3, is now the proud owner of 72 titles. That collection includes 14 grand slams titles and, given the way he has lorded over the European clay courts this season, can anyone really stop him from winning a 15th major crown at the French Open, a tournament he has won nine times, when play begins next week?
Only someone as brave as Fognini would pick anyone other than Nadal to triumph on the red clay of Roland Garros, given “El Fenomena’s” pedigree on the surface. He is the King of Clay, winner of 91.8 per cent of his matches and 52 titles on the surface.
He is in sizzling form as well, winning three back-to-back titles on clay – Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and now Madrid – to climb to the top of the ATP’s Race to London rankings.
The struggles of 2015 and 2016 look a distant memory. The 2017 Nadal – in those irreverent sleeveless tops and pirate shorts – seems a lot like the one we saw in 2007, or earlier. Remember that youthful spring in his steps during those early years? Or his contemptuous glance across the court, or into the stands, after leaving his opponent stranded with a scorching winner? They are back, along with those outrageous slices that drop dead at the net and those admonishing snarls that usually followed an error.
The Nadal of 2017 knows he owns these courts, and that is essentially the difference between him and the plebeian of 2015 and 2016, who lost seven consecutive matches to Djokovic, was beaten by Dominic Thiem on the clay courts of Buenos Aires (2016) and lost to Fognini three times in 2015.
Last week, he beat all three of them in Madrid, along with Nick Kyrgios and David Goffin, and each of those wins must be worth their weight in gold in terms of confidence.
Lest we forget, Nadal also reached the final of the Australian Open, Acapulco and Miami. So, coming to Paris, Nadal is the hottest player on the men’s tour, his performance in this week’s Rome Masters notwithstanding. The only slight concern is his workload.
If the Spaniard reaches the final in the Italian capital as well, it would mean he has played 20 matches in the 33 days leading up to the French Open
After winning Madrid, Nadal did say he was feeling “a little bit tired”. However, he also said “the joy of winning” keeps him going, keeps him “alive”.
The two-week French Open, then, should witness an engrossing tussle between his body and mind, but if the likes of Fognini are fancying a friendly wager on Nadal’s weary limbs, they should remember his mind has won most of those battles up to now.
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Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
The Kites
Romain Gary
Penguin Modern Classics
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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
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
The specs: 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
Price, base: Dh399,999
Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre V8
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 707hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 875Nm @ 4,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 16.8L / 100km (estimate)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
ZIMBABWE V UAE, ODI SERIES
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday - Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 258hp at 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,400rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.4L/100km
Price, base: from D215,000 (Dh230,000 as tested)
On sale: now
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
The%20BaaS%20ecosystem
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Brief scores:
Juventus 3
Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'
Frosinone 0