World No 2 Ons Jabeur survived a mid-match stumble before finally overcoming Tamara Zidansek 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.
The Tunisian, who reached the final at both Wimbledon and the US Open last season, needed two hours and 17 minutes to secure victory over the Slovenian under the roof on Rod Laver Arena.
Jabeur has set herself the twin targets in 2023 of becoming the first Arab and African woman to win a Grand Slam and toppling Iga Swiatek from the No 1 ranking.
But the 28-year-old, who had strapping on her left knee, suffered early nerves as she dropped her opening service game against the world No 98 but broke back straight away.
Further breaks were exchanged before the powerful Jabeur eventually outlasted Zidansek 10-8 in an attritional tiebreak at the end of a first set that lasted a draining 68 minutes.
Serving at 3-4 in the second, Jabeur was broken for a third time and Zidansek took advantage to level the match.
But after the extended interval between sets, Jabeur cleaned up her play, made fewer errors and sped away to victory.
"I just tried to follow what my coach told me to do," she said of her turnaround in the third set. "I wasn't really doing that and he's going to kill me after the match."
Jabeur committed 49 unforced errors during her stuttering opening match, with Zidansek conceding 40 herself, but only six came in her much-improved third set.
"It was a very tough match," said Jabeur. "I wasn't playing very well, and she was putting a lot of pressure on me.
"She's a player that doesn't give up and brings every ball in, so I was getting pretty frustrated. I told myself to be No 2 in the world and just win this match.
"I just tried to be more patient," she added. "It's a tough sport and you definitely don't want to play three sets here."
In the end, Jabeur managed to set up a second-round meeting with either Alison Riske-Amritraj of the US or Czech Marketa Vondrousova.
Jabeur, who missed last year's Australian Open with a back injury, won Madrid and Berlin trophies last year in a breakout season that propelled her to a new high in the rankings.
She reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at Melbourne Park in 2020 and has now won 11 of her last 12 opening-round matches at majors, the only loss coming to 52nd-ranked Magda Linette at Roland Garros last year.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
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.”
Results
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INDIA'S%20TOP%20INFLUENCERS
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
