Ons Jabeur during her Wimbledon first-round win over Magdalena Frech at the All England Club on July 4, 2023. Getty
Ons Jabeur during her Wimbledon first-round win over Magdalena Frech at the All England Club on July 4, 2023. Getty
Ons Jabeur during her Wimbledon first-round win over Magdalena Frech at the All England Club on July 4, 2023. Getty
Ons Jabeur during her Wimbledon first-round win over Magdalena Frech at the All England Club on July 4, 2023. Getty

Jabeur starts Wimbledon campaign with easy win as Alcaraz sends warning to Djokovic


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Last year's Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur is up and running once again at the All England Club after a comfortable straight-sets win over Magdalena Frech on Tuesday.

Jabeur has seen injuries hamper her season so far but the sixth seed looked in good shape as she sealed a 6-3, 6-3 victory against the Pole.

Rain decimated action on all the outside courts on the tournament's second day and a torrential downpour could be heard pounding on the Court One roof during the Tunisian's match.

Jabeur, who also lost in the US Open final last year, sealed the opening set in style after just 31 minutes, with of a stunning cross-court winner.

The 28-year-old moved with ease and displayed an impressive range of strokes that included drops, lobs and scoops to overwhelm Frech and ease to victory.

Jabeur will now face either unseeded Belgian Ysaline Bonaventure or Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan.

“I always feel so great to come back here. Last year I had an amazing run and hopefully this year it will be a little bit better,” said Jabeur, who lost to Elena Rybakina in last year's final.

“I walked into the locker room and there was Elena's photo with the trophy so that didn't help at all! But it's amazing to come back here, just the atmosphere, the grass is so beautiful and I love connecting with nature.”

Defending champion Rybakina was given a scare in her first-round match when she lost the opening set to world No 49 Shelby Rogers.

But Rybakina, who sealed her first Grand Slam triumph with last year's win over Jabeur, fought back to beat the experienced American 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

It had been a far from convincing start from the 24-year-old Kazakhstani, who had seen her preparation for her title defence hit by illness that saw her pull out of warm-up event at Eastbourne.

Rybakina double-faulted on the first point on her way to being broken, which was enough to give the 30-year-old the foundation to claim the opening set.

Suddenly, Rybakina was looking at becoming the first defending champion to lose in the opening round since Steffi Graf was beaten by Lori McNeil in 1994.

However, she steadied the ship, racing into a 5-0 lead in the second set before levelling the tie.

A double break in the decider then set her comfortably on her way to victory and a second round clash with either Alize Cornet of France or Japan's Nao Hibino.

“I was pretty nervous, and I can't even hide it,” said Rybakina. “The double fault said it all at the beginning of the match. I'm really pleased to get to another round.”

In the men's draw, world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz sent out a warning to his rivals with a ruthless straight-sets win over French veteran Jeremy Chardy.

Alcaraz's emphatic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 victory underlined his status as the main challenger to reigning champion Novak Djokovic.

The Spaniard, whose recent Queen's Club title showed he is fast adapting to life to grass, is seeded to meet world No 2 Djokovic in a blockbuster final at the All England Club.

That would be a repeat of last month's French Open semi-final, which Djokovic won 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 after Alcaraz suffered cramping in the final two sets.

Chardy, a former Wimbledon junior champion, will retire from singles tournaments after this year's event and the 36-year-old was no match for Alcaraz, who is confident it will be a different story if he meets Djokovic again in the Wimbledon final.

“The main reason I had cramp was the tension that I had facing Novak in the semi-final of a Grand Slam. I'm sure the experience is a really important part of that,” he said.

“I learnt a lot from that match to the next time I'm going to face Novak. It's going to be different for me. I'm going to deal with the pressure better than I did in the French Open.

“I can't play with that tension. As I said, it's going to be different the next time.”

Alcaraz will now face the winner of the all-French tie between Alexandre Muller and Arthur Rinderknech.

Also, two-time champion Andy Murray eased past fellow Briton Ryan Peniston in straight sets to reach the Wimbledon second round.

Former world No1 Murray, who won his first Wimbledon title in 2013 before adding a second three years later, came through 6-3, 6-0, 6-1.

Now ranked at 40, and playing with a metal hip, the 36-year-old had too much power and finesse for wildcard Peniston, the world No 268.

"It's amazing to be back on Centre Court again," said Murray.

"I started off quite nervously, I was a little bit tentative but once I got a break I played some good stuff. There were good signs."

European arms

Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons.  Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.

Tips for taking the metro

- set out well ahead of time

- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines

- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on

- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers

Emergency phone numbers in the UAE

Estijaba – 8001717 –  number to call to request coronavirus testing

Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111

Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre

Emirates airline – 600555555

Etihad Airways – 600555666

Ambulance – 998

Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lewis Hamilton in 2018

Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th

If you go

The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at. 
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.   

MATCH INFO

Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
 
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs
UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets
UAE v Oman - abandoned
Oman v Namibia - abandoned

Correspondents

By Tim Murphy

(Grove Press)

Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

Updated: July 04, 2023, 5:14 PM`