PARIS // Andrea Petkovic and Simona Halep completed the French Open semi-final pairings with straight-sets wins on Wednesday, meaning one of them will reach a grand slam tournament final for the first time.
Petkovic, a 28th-seeded German, beat 2012 French Open runner-up Sara Errani of Italy 6-2, 6-2. The fourth-seeded Halep, from Romania, defeated 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, also 6-2, 6-2.
“I have to say, today I was in a real zone. I didn’t think at all,” Petkovic said. “I was just focused on what I had to do.”
Neither Petkovic nor Halep has ever played in the semi-finals of a grand slam tournament. But they will meet on Thursday with a spot in the final against either Maria Sharapova or Eugenie Bouchard on the line.
Petkovic was first to complete her match on a wet day at Roland Garros and, although she had some trouble holding serve at the start of each set, her groundstrokes consistently landed near the lines, many of them were winners.
“I had a very good game plan from my coach. It didn’t work in the beginning, so I was getting a little – not panicked – but when you have a certain game plan and you lose the first two games and it’s not working – so I was kind of getting a little worried,” Petkovic said.
“I was lucky that I started playing better and that I was putting more balls into play.”
The match on Court Philippe Chatrier, the main stadium at Roland Garros, started under overcast skies after a three-hour delay. With Errani leading 2-1 but facing a break point, the rain returned.
Play continued despite the conditions and Petkovic broke with a forehand winner on her second break opportunity.
The drizzle continued until the changeover with Petkovic leading 5-2. By the time the second set started, the sun was out.
Although Petkovic was broken to open each set, she won the final six games of the first set and the final four games of the second.
“Very, very tired. I didn’t have, mentally, [any] energy,” Errani said.
“I don’t know why I was dead. I [didn’t] have power [in] my legs.”
Petkovic had been 0-3 in major quarter-finals, losing at that stage at the Australian Open, French Open and US Open in 2011. Her ranking dropped after that, as low as 177th last year, because of a right knee injury.
Russian Kuznetsova, a two-time grand slam title champion, who has not reached a major semi-final since winning the title at Roland Garros five years ago, said the weather was not to blame for her poor play.
“You can put many excuses or whatever, but I think the key is that Simona was at her best,” Kuznetsova said. “My movement was not perfect. The shots [were] not so good.”
Nadal and Murray advance on men’s side
Rafael Nadal rallied to advance to the French Open semifinals for the ninth time, beating David Ferrer 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 on Wednesday. In the other quarter-final,
The eight-time champion at Roland Garros lost the first set, but then seemed to race through the next three to ensure he had the day off on Thursday.
Nadal will face either Andy Murray or Gael Monfils in the semifinals.
Nadal improved his record to 64-1 at the French Open, and stretched his unbeaten streak to 33. His only loss came in the fourth round of the 2009 tournament, when Robin Soderling beat him.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray defeated the last French hope Gael Monfils on a rowdy Philippe Chatrier centre court Wednesday to reach the French Open semi-finals 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-0.
The Wimbledon champion reaches the last four at Roland Garros for the first time since 2011 when he lost against Rafael Nadal, and now faces the eight-time champion again in a bid to reach the championship match for the first time in Paris.
Nadal overpowered fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 in the day’s second quarter-final that finished just before dusk, as rain delayed play by three hours.
The 27-year-old Scot also set a new British record of reaching 14 Grand Slam semi-finals, going one better than Fred Perry.
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Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Athletic Bilbao v Celta Vigo (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Levante v Getafe (5pm), Sevilla v Real Madrid (7.15pm), Atletico Madrid v Real Valladolid (9.30pm), Cadiz v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday Granada v Huesca (5pm), Osasuna v Real Betis (7.15pm), Villarreal v Elche (9.30pm), Alaves v Real Sociedad (midnight)
Monday Eibar v Valencia (midnight)
Honeymoonish
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Austrian Grand Prix race timings
Weekend schedule for Austrian Grand Prix - all timings UAE
Friday
Noon-1.30pm First practice
4-5.30pm Second practice
Saturday
1-2pm Final practice
4pm Qualifying
Sunday
4pm Austrian Grand Prix (71 laps)
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.
PFA Premier League team of 2018-19
Allison (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
