Reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova advanced to the WTA Connecticut Open hardcourt tournament final Friday with straight-set triumphs.
Fourth-ranked Kvitova fired 11 aces in defeating Australia’s Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-1 while Rybarikova hit seven aces in a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Italy’s Camila Giorgi at the US Open hardcourt warm-up event.
Second seed Kvitova, the 2012 New Haven winner who lost to Simona Halep in last year’s final, will be the third seed at the US Open.
Rybarikova, ranked 30 spots below her rival at 68th, denied Giorgi on all 11 of her break-point chances to win in 83 minutes at the Yale University hardcourts.
Rybarikova, 25, ousted top-seeded Halep on Tuesday.
She is seeking her fifth WTA title in her sixth career final and first of the year. She captured the 2012 and 2013 Washington titles, the 2011 Memphis crown and her first WTA trophy on Birmingham grass in 2009.
Kvitova is hoping for her 13th career crown and second of the year.
Meanwhile, Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz and Czech veteran Lukas Rosol reached the final of the ATP Winston-Salem hardcourt tournament with three-set victories.
Rosol, whose only ATP title came last year at Bucharest, defeated Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 at the US Open warm-up event.
Janowicz, seeking his first ATP trophy, rallied to oust Sam Querrey 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, despite 18 aces from the American.
Janowicz, ranked 19 spots below Rosol at 52nd, reached his first Grand Slam semi-final last year at Wimbledon and last week ousted eighth-ranked Grigor Dimitrov in the second round at the Cincinnati Masters event.
Rosol, six years older than his finals rival at 29, lost to Dimitrov in this year’s Bucharest final and also settled for a runner-up finish last month at Stuttgart.
Janowicz won his only prior meeting with Rosol last year at Marseille.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
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MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')
Chelsea 0
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
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- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
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COMPANY PROFILE
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
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
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Rating: 2.5/5
