Maria Sharapova's declaration on making a return visit to the scene of her 2008 Australian Open success, now that her badly damaged shoulder is close to returning to its venomous best, adds further weight to the view that this year's women's event could turn out to be one of the most exciting in recent years.
Sharapova's lengthy absence from the game she once dominated was as damaging as the self-inflicted disappearances of two other former world No 1s - the Belgian rivals Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, both of whom have recently come out of retirement.
Having all three of those champions back in the draw is a major boost for what had become a stagnating WTA Tour.
"The shoulder is so much better now than it was early last September," said Sharapova, who has re-established herself in the world hierarchy well enough to earn the protection of one of the top 16 seeds.
That sets her up for a possible fourth-round clash against her fragile compatriot Dinara Safina, the most unconvincing of a cluster of players who have risen recently to No 1 status.
Sharapova, winner of three grand slam titles, added: "Maybe a few months ago I didn't really know how my shoulder would feel on any day. Now it's a lot more consistent and I believe I can get my serve back to where it used to be."
Preceding Sharapova as Australian Open champion was Henin, who "retired" a little more than a year later when firmly in command of the world's top ranking.
An eighth grand slam title for her is by no means out of the question after her impressive display in reaching the final of her comeback tournament in Brisbane a week ago.
A stronger option here is the woman who beat her in that thrilling final. Clijsters has already made a big mark in her "second career" by claiming last year's US Open in fairy tale fashion and back-to-back majors is a realistic possibility.
All three of those re-emerging luminaries are favoured by the draw putting them in the opposite half to defending champion Serena Williams and her big sister Venus. Serena tried to shrug off the knee injury which contributed to her defeat by Elena Dementieva in last week's Sydney final but there are obvious doubts about her capabilities of surviving the full fortnight.
The same could be said about Venus in view of her arrival into a first-round encounter tomorrow with Czech Lucie Safarova without playing a single competitive warm-up match.
Rod Laver Arena
From 4am:
14-Maria Sharapova (Russia) v Maria Kirilenko (Russia); 15-Kim Clijsters (Belgium) v Valerie Tetreault (Canada); 5-Andy Murray (Britain) v Kevin Anderson (South Africa)
From noon
2-Rafael Nadal (Spain) v Peter Luczak (Australia); Jelena Dokic (Australia) v 27-Alisa Kleybanova (Russia)
Hisense Arena
From 4am
2-Dinara Safina (Russia) v Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia); 7-Andy Roddick (US) v Thiemo de Bakker (Netherlands); 4-Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) v Michael Russell (US); Justine Henin (Belgium) v Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium)
Margaret Court Arena
From 4 am
Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) v Alexandra Dulgheru (Romania); Guillaume Rufin (France) v Bernard Tomic (Australia); 5-Elena Dementieva (Russia) v Vera Dushevina (Russia); 8-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) v Monica Niculescu (Romania); Matthew Ebden (Australia) v 12-Gael Monfils (France)
(Numbers before players' names denote seeding)
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HyveGeo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abdulaziz%20bin%20Redha%2C%20Dr%20Samsurin%20Welch%2C%20Eva%20Morales%20and%20Dr%20Harjit%20Singh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECambridge%20and%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESustainability%20%26amp%3B%20Environment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%20plus%20undisclosed%20grant%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVenture%20capital%20and%20government%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Red Sparrow
Dir: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Egerton, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons
Three stars
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Haltia.ai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Arto%20Bendiken%20and%20Talal%20Thabet%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2041%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241.7%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self%2C%20family%20and%20friends%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
MORE ON CORONAVIRUS & THE ECONOMY
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Last 10 NBA champions
2017: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-1
2016: Cleveland bt Golden State 4-3
2015: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-2
2014: San Antonio bt Miami 4-1
2013: Miami bt San Antonio 4-3
2012: Miami bt Oklahoma City 4-1
2011: Dallas bt Miami 4-2
2010: Los Angeles Lakers bt Boston 4-3
2009: Los Angeles Lakers bt Orlando 4-1
2008: Boston bt Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Specs
Engine 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp (542bhp in GTS model)
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000 (Dh549,000 for GTS)
ROUTE%20TO%20TITLE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERound%201%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Beat%20Leolia%20Jeanjean%206-1%2C%206-2%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERound%202%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBeat%20Naomi%20Osaka%207-6%2C%201-6%2C%207-5%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERound%203%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBeat%20Marie%20Bouzkova%206-4%2C%206-2%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERound%204%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Beat%20Anastasia%20Potapova%206-0%2C%206-0%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQuarter-final%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBeat%20Marketa%20Vondrousova%206-0%2C%206-2%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-final%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBeat%20Coco%20Gauff%206-2%2C%206-4%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Beat%20Jasmine%20Paolini%206-2%2C%206-2%3C%2Fp%3E%0A