On a day that saw the US Open affected by Hurricane Ida, there was no storm to weather on the court for Novak Djokovic after the world No 1 made straightforward progress into the third round and take another step closer to an historic calendar Grand Slam.
Djokovic, 34, cruised past 121st-ranked Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium to book a third-round date with 2014 US Open runner-up Kei Nishikori of Japan.
"I'm as motivated as ever to do well," Djokovic said. "I'm not the only player that wants to go deep in the tournament and put his hands on the trophy. I'm trying to be my best every day and let's see what happens."
Djokovic, who has won the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon titles this season, is chasing the first men's singles calendar Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969, and the Serb said the mental challenge was tougher than the physical one at this stage.
"Probably it's more mental and emotional, really," Djokovic said. "I don't mind being on the court a long time. I feel I have more chances in a best-of-five.
"It's more about handling everything that's happening off the court, all the expectations."
A fourth US Open crown would bring Djokovic his 21st career Grand Slam crown, giving him the men's all-time record, one more than the mark he now shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, both absent with injuries.
Nishikori made himself an obstacle in Djokovic's path to history by outlasting American Mackenzie McDonald 7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, avenging a loss in last month's Washington Open semi-finals.
Djokovic has a 17-2 career record against Nishikori, who last beat the Serbian star in the 2014 US Open semi-finals. Since then, Djokovic has won 16 in a row, most recently in the Tokyo Olympic quarter-finals.
"Even though I had a bad record, I always try to be positive," Nishikori said. "I'm sure it's going to be tough one, but I do my best."
Attendance was off as New York struggled to recover from a deadly storm and flash flooding. Remnants of Hurricane Ida struck on Wednesday night and killed at least 41 people, triggering a rare state of emergency for the city, flooding subways and turning roads into rivers.
High water that flooded US Open plazas had drained away and wind-scattered furniture was replaced for Thursday. Swamped Louis Armstrong Stadium hosted Thursday morning practice.
Barty and Zverev advance
With abandoned cars scattered across streets near the National Tennis Center and many highways shut down, fewer spectators than normal saw Tokyo Olympic champion Alexander Zverev and top-ranked Ashleigh Barty roll into the third round.
Australian Barty dispatched Danish teen Clara Tauson 6-1, 7-5 and German fourth seed Zverev thrashed 33rd-ranked Spanish left-hander Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-0, 6-3.
"It was pretty devastating last night," Barty, 25, said. "It was quite a wild storm. It did wreak some havoc."
Reigning Wimbledon champion Barty, seeking her third Grand Slam title, next plays American Shelby Rogers as she chases a sixth trophy of the year and first US Open quarter-finals spot.
Zverev, last year's US Open runner-up and a champion two weeks ago at Cincinnati, took only 74 minutes to advance.
"It's great that I'm through in three sets and just over an hour," Zverev, 24, said. "I will need that energy. I'll need that power I have for further matches. I'm happy I only lost four games."
German Oscar Otte, ranked 144th, became the fifth men's qualifier to reach the third round by defeating 92nd-ranked American Denis Kudla 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
There haven't been so many qualifiers so deep at any Slam since six at the 2011 French Open and not at the US Open since five made it in 1984.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
