DUBAI // Top seed Simona Halep had to overcome a dogged opponent and her own nerves last night before she could book her place in the last four of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Ekaterina Makarova, the No 6 seed, made the Romanian fight for every point, breaking Halep as she served for the match at 5-3 in the deciding third set and then saving four match points during the 12th game before an overhit forehand finally gave the world No 4 a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 win.
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“I didn’t believe in my serve at that moment and I just tried to finish very quickly, which wasn’t a good idea,” Halep said as she explained her inability to serve out the match at 5-3. “I rushed a little bit.
“I was very nervous and I wanted to just hit winners. That is not possible at this level and she’s a good player, you know. It is not easy. But, yeah, I just stayed very focused and at 5-all I said that I have to relax my hands and serve like I did in first set, and it was good.”
With Halep winning her service game comfortably, the pressure was then on Makarova, who had stunned the Romanian 6-4, 6-0 in the Australian Open quarter-finals last month.
She went down 40-0, but she fought back to deuce and managed to save two more match points before the crowd favourite prevailed in the tense finish.
“There [at the Australian Open] I couldn’t feel the ball at all during the match, and here was like better for me I think,” Halep said.
“Here I was fighting till the end. I tried to be a little bit aggressive. She was playing very well if you hit the ball strong, so sometimes I tried higher balls, just tried to change my tactics every time.
“I think I did well, and I’m really happy that I could finish in the right way because it was a tough match.”
Halep started in the right way, as well, breaking Makarova early and then closing the first set in 31 minutes.
But the Russian managed to win four games in a row to force a decider. Twice in that set, she had fought back from 40-0 down to hold.
In the end, though, there was a mere difference of three points between the two players, with Halep winning 94 of the 185 points in the match. “I was fighting till the end,” Halep said as she picked through the positives from the match.
“That was the most important thing for me tonight and, match-by-match, I will find my good form.”
In the semi-finals, Halep will meet the third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki. The Dane topped No 10 seed and Italian Flavia Pennetta 7-5, 6-0.
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ACC 2019: The winners in full
Best Actress Maha Alemi, Sofia
Best Actor Mohamed Dhrif, Weldi
Best Screenplay Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia
Best Documentary Of Fathers and Sons by Talal Derki
Best Film Yomeddine by Abu Bakr Shawky
Best Director Nadine Labaki, Capernaum
RESULTS
Main card
Bantamweight 56.4kg: Mehdi Eljamari (MAR) beat Abrorbek Madiminbekov (UZB), Split points decision
Super heavyweight 94 kg: Adnan Mohammad (IRN) beat Mohammed Ajaraam (MAR), Split points decision
Lightweight 60kg: Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Faridoon Alik Zai (AFG), RSC round 3
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Taha Marrouni (MAR) beat Mahmood Amin (EGY), Unanimous points decision
Light welterweight 64.5kg: Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) beat Nouredine Samir (UAE), Unanimous points decision
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Haroun Baka (ALG), KO second round
Brief scores:
Toss: South Africa, chose to field
Pakistan: 177 & 294
South Africa: 431 & 43-1
Man of the Match: Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
Series: South Africa lead three-match series 2-0
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
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Info
What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship
When: December 27-29, 2018
Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams
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SCHEDULE
Saturday, April 20: 11am to 7pm - Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival and Para jiu-jitsu.
Sunday, April 21: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (female) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Monday, April 22: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (male) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Tuesday, April 23: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Wednesday, April 24: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Thursday, April 25: 11am-5pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Friday, April 26: 3pm to 6pm Finals of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Saturday, April 27: 4pm and 8pm awards ceremony.
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
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RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
