Venus Williams makes a forehand return to her sister Serena during the women's singles final at the Australian Open. Andy Brownbill / AP
Venus Williams makes a forehand return to her sister Serena during the women's singles final at the Australian Open. Andy Brownbill / AP

Serena and Venus Williams draw admiration of Agnieszka Radwanska



Agnieszka Radwanska, the No 4 seed at this week's Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, has saluted the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, for turning back the clock in the Australian Open final and showing they are still the dominant forces in the game.

Serena is the real No 1

“If Serena is on fire, then of course, No 1 is her,” said Radwanska, who is due to open her ninth Dubai campaign against Elise Mertens later on Tuesday. “She is definitely playing amazing tennis again. She is not playing an awful lot of tournaments, so it’s always hard to expect what she is going to do and where she is going to be. But if she is there and playing her best, it’s tough. What she achieved at the Australian Open, it was unbelievable. She well deserved it and she played amazing tennis.”

Venus can play unbelievable too

“Venus, for sure, was very impressive too,” added Radwanska, about the elder Williams sister, who will be celebrating her 37th birthday in June. “But surprising? On the one hand, a little bit yes because there are so many other young players playing great tennis, healthy, strong and motivated. But on the other side, she is still Venus. She can also play unbelievable tennis. She played so many good matches in Australia. She did not have an easy draw and she could still play unbelievable, right until the end.”

No matches, no problem

When Serena showed up in Melbourne for the Australia Open, she had played only two matches since her loss to Karolina Pliskova in the US Open semi-final. She had looked far from convincing in those two matches in a windy Auckland, but won her 23rd grand slam without dropping a set. “She came back and showed again who is No 1,” said Radwanska.

Less is better for Serena

“Serena has so much experience and she has played for so many years on the Tour,” said Radwanska. “It’s not like she is going to forget how to play tennis. I don’t think she is losing that much rhythm so fast. I think she has played so many tournaments and she has been on the Tour for 20 years. So I think, for her less is better and she can still win the grand slam after not playing a couple of months.”

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Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

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Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

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Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 

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  2. Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
  3. Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
  4. Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
  5. Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
  6. Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
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UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years

Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018

More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE

Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE

The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023

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Huroob Ezterari

Director: Ahmed Moussa

Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed

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Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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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

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Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
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The bio

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I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist

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Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.

What is favourite book?

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times

What is your favourite Arabic film?

Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki

What is favourite English film?

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