Ahead of the start of Wimbledon 2016, Jon Turner picks five players to keep an eye out for at the All England Club this year.
Roger Federer
A seven-time champion at the All England Club and one of, if not the, greatest grass court player of all time, Federer will always claim a great deal of attention from fans and the media. And yet, Federer, 34, enters this year’s Wimbledon following the most testing and frustrating stint of his career. Back and knee injuries have limited Federer to just 22 matches this season, and he has reached just one final. His Wimbledon preparation has been below his immeasurably high standards, reaching the semi-finals at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart and the Halle Open, a tournament he has won so many times (eight) that it should be renamed the Roger Federer Invitational. Despite all this, it is still Federer at Wimbledon. Only a fool would completely write him off. It all makes for intriguing build-up. Will the best-of-five sets format allow Federer time to find his groove? Or could his lack of court time make him a high-profile early round causality? We’ll soon find out.
Juan Martin Del Potro
If Federer thinks he’s had a frustrating time with injuries, he should spare a thought for Del Potro. Without question, the so-called Big Four would have been the Big Five had the 27-year-old Argentine not suffered numerous wrist injuries that, at one point, made him consider walking away from tennis. A former world No 4 and US Open champion, Del Potro will be making his first appearance at a grand slam since the 2014 Australian Open, and his first at Wimbledon since 2013, when he reached the semi-finals before losing a five set epic to Novak Djokovic. In possession of a huge serve and one of the best backhands on the ATP Tour, the unseeded Del Potro has the ability to cause anyone problems. Indeed, should he get past Frenchman Stephane Robert, he will likely face No 4 seed Stan Wawrinka in the second round, a match Del Potro is more than capable of winning. From there, he could have a clear route to the quarter-finals. It might be a big ask, but for a player of Del Potro’s talent, anything is possible.
Nick Kyrgios
There are reasons to include Kyrgios on every ‘Players to Watch’ list at every tournament he plays, given the enigmatic behaviour and form of the talented Australian. Yes, that is part of the reason he has made this particular list; opponents still do not know which Kyrgios they are facing on any given day. Will it be the mesmerising version that stormed to his first ATP title in Marseille earlier this year? Or the sulky, petulant player that was accused of tanking against Richard Gasquet at Wimbledon 12 months ago? Granted, the latter version is not as common a sight as it was in past seasons, hence Kyrgios’s rise to No 18 in the world, yet it can still make the odd appearance. If the very best Kyrgios turns up consistently over the next two weeks, with his monstrous serve and forehand, he has the game to defeat anyone and make a deep run at the All England club.
Garbine Muguruza
It’s been a strange year for Muguruza. Blessed with an abundance of talent and in posessesion of a powerful all-round game, the Spanish world No 2 should be making mince meat of most of her rivals at every tournament. And still, in 2016 she has made just one final. To be fair, she certainly picked the right tournament, dismantling an albeit injured Serena Williams at the French Open to clinch her maiden grand slam title. Muguruza has expressed her doubt over grass being her weakest surface, and her Wimbledon preparation has been far from ideal, losing in straight sets to world No 61 Kirsten Flipkens in her only grass court match in Mallorca. But this is still the same player that reached the Wimbledon final last year, when she went toe-to-toe with Williams for spells of the match. Given her patchy form, some are predicting an early exit for Muguruza, while others point to her enormous ability as reason for optimism. She also enters the tournament as the WTA’s most recent grand slam champion, so will need to deal with having a target on her back. The question marks surrounding her only serve to increase the intrigue.
Madison Keys
While Muguruza may be concerned about her poor grass court preparation for Wimbledon, few female players could be more pleased with theirs than world No 10 Keys. The big-hitting American, 21, won her first title of this season last week at the Birmingham Open, dropping just two sets en route to victory. It has been a solid season so far for Keys, who also reached the final of the Rome Masters before losing to Serena Williams, although her showing in the grand slams — a pair of last-16 exits in Paris and Melbourne — perhaps betray her ability. Keys, who has one of the most powerful games on the WTA Tour despite her diminutive size, will feel Wimbledon is her best chance to make a major impression at a grand slam this season. Talent is not an issue, but consistency might be. Given how open the women’s game is at present, Keys has as good a chance as anyone to go all the way at Wimbledon this year.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
Slow loris biog
From: Lonely Loris is a Sunda slow loris, one of nine species of the animal native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore
Status: Critically endangered, and listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list due to growing demand in the global exotic pet trade. It is one of the most popular primate species found at Indonesian pet markets
Likes: Sleeping, which they do for up to 18 hours a day. When they are awake, they like to eat fruit, insects, small birds and reptiles and some types of vegetation
Dislikes: Sunlight. Being a nocturnal animal, the slow loris wakes around sunset and is active throughout the night
Superpowers: His dangerous elbows. The slow loris’s doe eyes may make it look cute, but it is also deadly. The only known venomous primate, it hisses and clasps its paws and can produce a venom from its elbow that can cause anaphylactic shock and even death in humans
BIG SPENDERS
Premier League clubs spent £230 million (Dh1.15 billion) on January transfers, the second-highest total for the mid-season window, the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said in a report.
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
