Defending champion Sloane Stephens was sent packing from the Miami Open on Sunday after a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Germany's Tatjana Maria in the third round.
Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion and world No 6, had no answer to Florida-based Maria's slices, chips and lobs and suffered a second consecutive early exit after losing her first match in Indian Wells to Swiss qualifier Stefanie Vogele.
Earlier on Sunday, second seed Simona Halep fought back from a set down to defeat Polona Hercog while Venus Williams reached the next round with a straight sets win over Daria Kasatkina.
Maria, ranked 62nd in the world, celebrated prematurely on her third match point with a lob shot that was called out, but won on the next one when Stephens sent a backhand long.
"I could not be happier right now," the 31-year-old said. "I think I played at home, because I live here. It was helping me a lot.
"My game is pretty special, so I knew that tonight I had a chance. I played two times against Sloane, so I knew what to expect."
Halep had nothing but praise for Hercog, who has a world ranking of 93rd, after dropping the first set and being pushed all the way in the second by the Slovenian.
The Romanian dominated the tiebreak to turn the match around and eventually triumphed 5-7, 7-6, 6-2.
"It was not easy at all," Halep said. "I think the level was very, very high. She played unbelievable. If she keeps playing like this, she can be top 20 easy."
Halep grabbed the match by the scruff of the neck by winning five consecutive points in the second set tiebreak and after lucky loser Hercog pulled within 3-2 in the concluding set, Halep won the next three games to seal the match.
"I think in the end she got tired a little bit, then I was stepping a little bit forward to be more aggressive," Halep said.
"She didn't miss. So it was really difficult. It was a very, very high standard."
World No 3 Halep avoided becoming the third major player to exit the women's draw in two days after world No 1 Naomi Osaka was stunned by Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei and Serena William withdrew with a knee injury.
She next faces three-time champion Venus Williams in the fourth round after the American won 6-3 6-1 against Russian 14th seed Kasatkina, who failed to hold serve once
The seven-time grand slam champion broke Kasatkina eight times, losing just one game after trailing 3-2 in the opener.
"I think in a lot of the matches we played before, she was just on top of her game, couldn't miss," Williams said. "I think today I was just able to control the points. Got a few more errors. I'm always at my best when I'm playing aggressive."
The Russian did not save a single break point and lost every service game.
"I didn't realise that until after the match looking at the stats," said Williams, who was broken four times. "I've never had a match before like that in my life."
In other matches, Latvian 11th seed Anastasija Sevastova lost 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 to Kazakh Yulia Putintseva, while 25th-seeded American Danielle Collins went down 7-5, 6-1 to China's Wang Yafan.
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The years Ramadan fell in May
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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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
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scores:
Pakistan (1st innings) 181: Babar 71; Olivier 6-37
South Africa (1st innings) 223: Bavuma 53; Amir 4-62
Pakistan (2nd innings) 190: Masood 65, Imam 57; Olivier 5-59
Results
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m; Winner: AF Al Baher, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m; Winner: Talento Puma, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,950m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Stakes Listed (TB) Dh500,000 1,950m; Winner: Mark Of Approval, Patrick Cosgrave, Mahmood Hussain.
4pm: Conditions (TB) Dh125,000 1,400m; Winner: Dead-heat Raakez, Jim Crowley, Nicholas Bachalard/Attribution, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.30pm: Jebel Ali Sprint (TB) Dh500,000 1,000m; Winner: AlKaraama, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,400m; Winner: Cachao, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
The years Ramadan fell in May
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Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
