DUBAI // Roger Federer said on Sunday he hopes to use the tournament at the Aviation Club this week as the launching pad for a solid season in which he has decided to try to freshen up a few things.
First, though, he wants to make sure he gets enough matches in Dubai as he has not played since losing to Andreas Seppi in the third round of the Australian Open last month.
“I know it is going to be tough as I’ve had a long break, one of the longer ones I’ve had in many years,” said Federer, who will open his title defence against Russian Mikhail Youzhny on Monday.
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“But it was necessary as I did feel that I was playing a lot of tennis in the last six to eight months and I couldn’t take the necessary rest that I wanted to take at the end of the season because of the Davis Cup.
“There is a bit more uncertainty maybe going into a tournament after a long break, but at the same time you come back refreshed and might take that one or two matches to really get going.”
Federer has decided to change his schedule a little this year in an attempt to remain fresh by skipping next month’s Miami Masters, which he last won in 2006, and play instead at the Istanbul Open, the first ATP World Tour event to be held in Turkey, in April.
“I want to go to Turkey and play in Istanbul,” he said. “I have heard unbelievable things about the city and I said ‘OK, I will at least get enough matches going into the clay court season’, and that’s my trade off for the French Open and Wimbledon later.”
First, he acknowledges he has to get back to form after the disappointment in Australia.
“This is my first match after the Seppi match and I know that I need to play well here, and at the same time stay healthy and motivated moving forward,” Federer said.
“I guess being happy in your personal life also helps. It is so much easier to travel the road and all that, so that you can play tennis. It makes things so much more easy. You practise and then you go to play matches at the end of the day, and that is why I am here.”
He revealed that his defeat to Seppi had an unusual aftermath.
“It actually gave me more time off and I’ve got to be thankful to Seppi,” he said.
“That night I celebrated with champagne with my team, thanking Seppi as I had got nine days extra off. That’s how I see it. You get some additional time for practice as well so that I can be hopeful of coming back stronger.
“That’s the goal I have after a loss like that. You don’t start questioning anything. You just find out ways how to bounce back as quick as possible and as strong as possible. I have actually been playing quite well if you look at the results for the past six months or so.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFirst%20match%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2020%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%2016%20round%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%203%20to%206%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQuarter-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%209%20and%2010%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2013%20and%2014%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2018%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FINAL LEADERBOARD
1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
2. Matt Kuchar (USA) 65 71 66 69 - 9-under
3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
T4. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67 73 67 68 - 5-under
T6. Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 76 66 65 - 4-under
T6. Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72 72 67 65 - 4-under
T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE) 68 72 69 67 - 4-under
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (Dirt) 1,200m
7.05pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (D) 1,900m
8.15pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 2,000m
8.50pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; (D) 2,000m
Results
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (Dirt) 1,000m, Winner: Hazeem Al Raed, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 85,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: Ghazwan Al Khalediah, Hugo Lebouc, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,400m, Winner: Dinar Al Khalediah, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi.
6.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Faith And Fortune, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Only Smoke, Bernardo Pinheiro, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: AF Ramz, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mass, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 523hp
Torque: 750Nm
Price: Dh469,000
