Ons Jabeur said the only pressure she is feeling ahead of the Australian Open is what she places on herself as the Tunisian aims to make it third time lucky at the season's first Grand Slam tournament.
Jabeur added more history to her trailblazing career last year when she became the first African or Arab woman to reach a major final, doing so at Wimbledon and again two months later at the US Open. The world No 2 ended up on the losing side on both occasions, going down to Elena Rybankina at the All England Club having won the first set, before top-ranked Iga Swiatek proved too strong on the day at Flushing Meadows.
Now back at Melbourne Park where in 2020 she became the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final, expectations are much higher this time around. In the three years since that breakthrough, Jabeur has climbed to No 2 in the world rankings is comfortably among the best players on the WTA Tour.
"I will try to use that experience from last year [of losing two Grand Slam finals]; it was tough and my goal is to not lose any more finals but to use that to be ready for the next one," Jabeur, 28, said at her pre-tournament press conference.
"I feel like there isn't much pressure on me at this tournament, I'm just going to try to play my game and be there match by match and see what's going to happen."
At the same time, Jabeur is happy to apply that pressure on herself. Through grins and a suggestive nod, Jabeur hinted that she has a photo of the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup ― the trophy awarded to the Australian Open's women's singles champion ― as a screensaver on her phone.
“That's always how I worked. It's been always great for me that I tell you guys what I want to achieve, I tell you my goals,” said Jabeur, who will headline both the inaugural Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships next month.
“I put it out there, make a promise to you guys. I hate to break my promises. I see it that way. I tell you guys I want to win Grand Slams. OK, you're expecting me to win. I can't disappoint you.”
It is a demonstration of the progress Jabeur has made since the 2020 milestone that a quarter-final would now be considered a disappointment and that titles are the only target. While the Australian Open trophy is the immediate ultimate goal, the Tunisian insisted she will not look beyond her opponents, starting with Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek in the first round on Tuesday.
"I might not be as happy as I was in 2020 by reaching the quarter-final but it's still a quarter-final," Jabeur said. "I just want to give every round what it deserves. For me the goal, as the No 2 in the world, is to make finals.
"I like this kind of pressure, I put the pressure on myself because sometimes you need that, to be one of the top players. I know a lot of players are hungry, so it's going to be an interesting two weeks for sure."
Jabeur missed last year's Australian Open with a back injury and she appeared affected by a similar issue during the Adelaide International last week. However, she insisted she is fit and raring to go.
"It's actually much, much better," she said. "I just needed a couple of days to be ready. It's the beginning of the season and I'm very happy to be back."
FIXTURES
Fixtures for Round 15 (all times UAE)
Friday
Inter Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Saturday
Atalanta v Verona (6pm)
Udinese v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Juventus (11.45pm)
Sunday
Lecce v Genoa (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (6pm)
SPAL v Brescia (6pm)
Torino v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Parma (9pm)
Bologna v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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.”
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
INFO
What: DP World Tour Championship
When: November 21-24
Where: Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae.
The years Ramadan fell in May
more from Janine di Giovanni
Match info:
Burnley 0
Manchester United 2
Lukaku (22', 44')
Red card: Marcus Rashford (Man United)
Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)
Wednesday
Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)
Norwich City v Everton (9pm)
Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)
Thursday
Burnley v Watford (9pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)
Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)
