Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic take their battle to end 2013 as world No 1 to the Paris Masters this week as the desperate stampede to reach the World Tour Finals wraps up.
Nadal, the comeback king of the year after winning the French and US opens, as well as deposing Djokovic as world No 1, is seeking another landmark in the French capital.
The Spaniard is bidding to become the first player to win six Masters titles in the same season.
But he has been showing signs of wear and tear in recent weeks, as his effort to clinch 10 trophies since his return from a seven-month injury lay-off in February have taken a late-season toll.
Despite losing his top ranking, the Australian Open champion Djokovic has still been the top player of recent weeks, winning titles at Beijing and Shanghai.
“I put myself in a better position right now with back-to-back wins,” Djokovic said of his hopes of returning to the top spot, which may be slim, since Nadal does not have points to defend since he missed the 2012 Paris Masters.
“My motivation is there always, especially when I’m playing finals of such a big event,” he said.
The Serb has the Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic to be played, too.
Five of the eight places at next week’s season-ending World Tour Finals have been claimed by Nadal, Djokovic, David Ferrer, Juan Martin del Potro and Tomas Berdych.
Roger Federer had hoped to join them on Sunday, but his defeat to Del Potro in the Swiss Indoors final at Basel kept him waiting.
Federer can now assure himself a place in the tournament by winning his opening second-round match at Paris, where he faces the winner of an opener between Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny, the winner in Valencia on Sunday, and South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.
If Federer wins, he will be into the London year-ender for a 12th straight edition, where he would be bidding for a sixth title.
Federer’s Swiss compatriot, Stanislas Wawrinka, and the French duo, Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, are expected to scrap for the last two entries.
Gasquet, holding down the final qualification spot at ninth position in the race to London, is 65 points ahead of his compatriot, 10th-place Tsonga.
But the pair could potentially meet tomorrow in the Paris third round, and with eighth-place Wawrinka in the opposite half of the draw, it means that only one of them can qualify for London should Wawrinka win his first match.
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
Notable Yas events in 2017/18
October 13-14 KartZone (complimentary trials)
December 14-16 The Gulf 12 Hours Endurance race
March 5 Yas Marina Circuit Karting Enduro event
March 8-9 UAE Rotax Max Challenge
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
More coverage from the Future Forum
RESULT
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)
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'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
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