DUBAI // Ana Ivanovic appeared drained and understandably downhearted following her latest scrape with Venus Williams, but at least she was accepting of her fate. She had no choice, really.
The world No 12 had just been subjected to a tennis tour de force at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, her early season vibrancy dulled in crushing fashion as Williams swept to a 6-2, 6-1 victory.
Williams, once the most feared female in her sport, may currently reside outside the top 40 in the global rankings, but she is showing greener-by-the-week shoots of recovery. Even Ivanovic conceded as much; this was vintage Venus.
“It’s very close,” said the Serb when asked how present-day Williams sizes up against the one who last decade reigned supreme over the women’s game. “We played many times in the past. This is her game, you know.”
Ivanovic is better qualified than most. She has completed nine matches against Williams, but has never fared worse than she did at the Aviation Club yesterday.
As recently as last month, she managed her second victory over the American, beating her in the ASB Classic final in Auckland. There would be no repeat here.
“I learned a lot from that match,” Williams said. “I’ve improved a lot since then, too. I’ve had to take some tough losses, but I’ve learned from them, and made them constructive. That’s what I’m trying to do each time.”
Williams’s latest triumph was built on some powerful groundstrokes – she fired 19 winners – while five aces helped her race through the encounter in just 56 minutes. In a sequence that includes twice seizing the trophy, in 2009 and 2010, Williams’s unbeaten streak in Dubai has stretched to 12 matches. Flavia Pennetta, the qualifier who forms today’s quarter-final opponent, could well find 13 an unlucky number, too.
“People are having to play to the very end to beat me, and I know I can play better,” said Williams, who later crashed out of the doubles tournament along with sister Serena. “So that gives me room for improvement. As long as I’m out here, I’m going to be optimistic.”
Optimism finds root in that she is playing “smarter”, and that can spell only trouble for her rivals. They might not enthuse about her regaining the sort of form that collected seven grand slam titles – five at Wimbledon alone – but Williams, 33, is concerned solely with believing in herself.
“No one is going to do that for me,” she said. “There is going to be a lot of people who won’t believe in you and they’re going to let you know that.
“That’s really not my problem, that’s theirs. Because, guess what? They haven’t won Wimbledon. I have. It keeps me warm at night.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
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'Downton Abbey: A New Era'
Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan
Rating: 4/5
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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