NEW YORK // Roger Federer took aim at US Open organisers after an easy win on Monday, cruising past Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, but was more worried about the playing surface than his opponent Wednesday, Israel's Dudi Sela.
The third-seeded Swiss showed he was still eager for more challenges, complaining that organisers, the United States Tennis Association, had made the courts too slow and too similar to those of the Australian Open.
"Did they make a mistake? Maybe they did paint the court a bit too rough. It's just unfortunate that maybe all the slams are too equal," the 16-time major champion said. "They should feel very different to the Australian Open, and now I don't feel it really does."
"The night session just feels like you can take huge cuts at the ball, you can run everything down. It's great for tennis, but I'm not sure if it's really what the game needs.
"The game needs different speed at slams and so forth. I don't feel we quite have that at the moment, especially if the US Open is getting slower."
Federer joined Andre Agassi on 224 wins in singles matches at grand slam tournaments with his victory over Giraldo. Jimmy Connors holds the record at 233.
Serbia's Viktor Troicki was the only seeded player on the men's side to lose on a comfortable opening day in the men's draw.
Winners Tuesday included fifth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain, who dropped a first set but recovered to stop Igor Andreev 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, the 11th seed, was a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 winner over Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei; and Sergey Bubka, who beat Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
Andy Murray, who begins his quest for his first major title against Somdev Devvarman Wednesday, is hoping changes in his diet will prove the missing piece in the grand slam jigsaw.
Murray is following in the footsteps of Novak Djokovic, the world No 1, who went gluten free before embarking on his run of 57 wins from 59 matches this season. Murray is eating a similar diet to Djokovic, and the world No 4 declared he has never felt better, even if it does present a few challenges.
"I'm having a lot more fish and vegetables and trying to have a more balanced diet, rather than just the typical pasta before matches and steaks and chicken," said the Scot. "Breakfast is quite difficult because, normally, I could have bagels and any spreads. And then snacks during the day. Now, rather than having a chocolate bar, I'm having an apple or a banana.
"It's something that, now that I know how I feel, I wish I had been doing it longer. I feel way better. I wake up at 7am now and feel great. Before I would wake up at 9.30 and feel terrible."
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
Tesalam Aleik
Abdullah Al Ruwaished
(Rotana)
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Christopher Robin
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Haley Atwell, Jim Cummings, Peter Capaldi
Three stars
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Getting%20there
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Bawaal%20
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
The%20specs
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SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
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.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The bio:
Favourite holiday destination: I really enjoyed Sri Lanka and Vietnam but my dream destination is the Maldives.
Favourite food: My mum’s Chinese cooking.
Favourite film: Robocop, followed by The Terminator.
Hobbies: Off-roading, scuba diving, playing squash and going to the gym.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Total eligible population
About 57.5 million people
51.1 million received a jab
6.4 million have not
Where are the unvaccinated?
England 11%
Scotland 9%
Wales 10%
Northern Ireland 14%
Kill%20
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
