For someone within touching distance of the world's top ranking, Petra Kvitova seems non-plussed about the possibility of achieving the milestone when the Australian Open begins tomorrow.
The tall 21 year old, who could become the second Czech woman to achieve the world No 1 after Martina Navaratilova, only began to take tennis more seriously at 16 and said the possible achievement had never entered her mind.
"Actually when I start (to) play tennis, I didn't think I would be (a) professional tennis player," Kvitova said on Sunday. "So for me (I) won Wimbledon, (the WTA) Championships, Fed Cup, it wasn't my dream. But it's very nice.
"If I maybe can be number one, it will be very nice, too, of course."
Kvitova has been questioned relentlessly about the top ranking since she arrived in Australia, where she played Hopman Cup and the Sydney International and actually had the opportunity to snatch it before the first grand slam of the year.
She had to win the Sydney tournament to leapfrog Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, though she lost in the semi-finals to China's Li Na.
Wozniacki will need to at least make the fourth round at Melbourne Park to give her the chance of retaining the top spot, and Kvitova was quick to point out that any number of players (actually six) could be world No 1 in two weeks time.
"Yeah, I mean, it's very close (to being No 1), but still it's really far away because, you know, many players can be really top," she said.
"I mean, it's really open now, the women's tennis. Everybody from top can play really well.
"I know it's just some points, but still it's really big step."
The rangy left-hander with a powerful serve and booming forehand is being touted as being at the forefront of a generational change in the women's game, having won her first grand slam title, the season-ending WTA Championships and helped the Czech Republic to the Fed Cup title.
She also won six titles, the same numbers as Wozniacki, on the tour last year, though she was a little reticent to suggest she could repeat the feat this year.
"The last year was great for me. Of course, I had many (good) results. It will be very tough to have similar results this year.
"I know it will be very tough, but still I just want to be focused on my game and we will see."
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
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
'O'
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Match info
Uefa Nations League A Group 4
England 2 (Lingard 78', Kane 85')
Croatia 1 (Kramaric 57')
Man of the match: Harry Kane (England)
'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
Indika
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LAST 16
SEEDS
Liverpool, Manchester City, Barcelona, Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Valencia, Juventus
PLUS
Real Madrid, Tottenham, Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Lyon, Chelsea
Opening weekend Premier League fixtures
Weekend of August 10-13
Arsenal v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Cardiff City
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield Town v Chelsea
Liverpool v West Ham United
Manchester United v Leicester City
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton v Burnley
Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
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The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
