Australia's Nick Kyrgios during his match against Britain's Paul Jubb. AP
Australia's Nick Kyrgios during his match against Britain's Paul Jubb. AP
Australia's Nick Kyrgios during his match against Britain's Paul Jubb. AP
Australia's Nick Kyrgios during his match against Britain's Paul Jubb. AP

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Tennis

Nick Kyrgios admits spitting towards ‘disrespectful’ fan at Wimbledon

Australian criticises line judges and spectators after edging Paul Jubb in five-set thriller

The National

June 28, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

Nick Kyrgios admitted spitting in the direction of a spectator at the conclusion of his five-set victory over Britain’s Paul Jubb at Wimbledon.

The Australian was involved in a three-hour thriller on Court Three, which he eventually won 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-7, 7-5.

Kyrgios was involved in several agitated chats with a number of those in the crowd as well as the line judges throughout the round one contest.

And he criticised the lack of respect shown by the current generation of fans before he went on to admit his own indiscretion.

When asked if he spat in the direction of a spectator, Kyrgios replied: “Of one of the people disrespecting me, yes. Yes. I would not be doing that to someone who was supporting me.

“Today as soon as I won the match, I turned to him… I’ve been dealing with hate and negativity for a long time, so I don’t feel like I owed that person anything.

“Like, he literally came to the match to not even support anyone really, it was more just to stir up and disrespect. That’s fine. But if I give it back to you, then that’s just how it is.”

Britain's Paul Jubb returns the ball to Australia's Nick Kyrgios. AFP
Britain's Paul Jubb returns the ball to Australia's Nick Kyrgios. AFP

Kyrgios has long had a good relationship with the Wimbledon crowd but knew he would be the villain up against home favourite Jubb, who made an impressive start and claimed a decisive break in the eighth game to take the first set in 23 minutes.

World number 40 Kyrgios, who had already produced one underarm serve, smashed a tennis ball out of the court to threaten a round one implosion but regained his cool and broke twice in the second set before he edged a tight third.

The 27-year-old started to become frustrated with some of the line judges and spectators, including one who shouted abuse.

"Is that normal? No," he added. "But I just don’t understand why it’s happening over and over again.

“I love this tournament. It’s got nothing to do with Wimbledon. I just think it’s a whole generation of people on social media feeling like they have a right to comment on every single thing with negativity. It just carries on to real life."

A back and forth decider saw Kyrgios gain the upper-hand and a 30th ace of the match saw him move ahead 6-5 and he clinched another decisive break to wrap up victory with his second match point.

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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

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Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

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Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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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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Updated: June 28, 2022, 6:13 PM
TennisWimbledon 2025Nick Kyrgios