It may have taken three matches but Novak Djokovic finally delivered a statement of intent at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Thursday by defeating Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic, the top seed, was strangely subdued in his first-round win over qualifier Tomas Machac - needing a third-set tiebreak to prevail - and while he was much improved in the second round against world No 39 Tallon Griekspoor, it still contained uncharacteristic lapses and errors.
Yet, when faced with a significant step up in quality, Djokovic delivered. It wasn't that the world No 1 necessarily dominated the sixth-seeded Hurkacz, more that he just looked so comfortable in his 6-3, 7-5 victory; rarely troubled, always in control, one of those all-too familiar performances where he cruised along in third gear and only revved into fourth when the moment called for it.
Playing against a player of Hurkacz's calibre and with the big weapons the Pole possesses, chances are usually at a premium and so it transpired for the majority of this match on Centre Court, a break in each set proving the difference.
Djokovic looked like he finally got a read on Hurkacz's massive serve in the 11th game of the second set and finally earned the deserved break at the fifth attempt before closing out the victory on serve with ease.
It was Djokovic's 15th straight win to start the year, following titles in Adelaide and at the Australian Open, and he is now just two wins away from a sixth trophy in Dubai.
"It was a challenging match again Hubert, like it always is," Djokovic, 35, said on court. "I think he's got one of the best serves in the game, so in the second set until the 11th game I didn't have too many chances. Fortunately I was able to find a rhythm on my serve.
"Really one or two points can decide the winner of a match like this. There's not much separating the players, so I'm just really glad with the way I played under pressure."
Next up is the semi-final most tennis fans would have hoped for when the draw was released last weekend.
Daniil Medvedev has been in similarly scintillating form and extended his winning run to 12 matches - a run that has earned the Russian titles in Rotterdam and Doha, and demonstrates that he is very much back to his ruthless best. The latest was a clinical 6-3, 6-2 victory over Croatian eighth seed Borna Coric.
At the opposite end of the draw, Andrey Rublev produced a far less stressful victory than his effort in the previous round by beating Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-3, 7-6.
The defending champion saved five match points against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Wednesday, but was a more comfortable winner in the quarter-finals despite a late wobble while serving for the match.
If the Russian second seed is to keep alive his title defence beyond the semi-finals, he will need to beat Alexander Zverev for the first time having lost to the German in all five previous meetings. The Olympic champion booked his place in the last four with a 7-5, 6-4 over Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.
"I need to play good tennis, to play aggressive," Rublev said about Zverev. "He's a top player, he was winning so many great titles and beating all the top players, so he knows how to play tennis and he knows how to play against me. I also know how to play against him. It will be about all the little details."
Command%20Z
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
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.”
Wallabies
Updated team: 15-Israel Folau, 14-Dane Haylett-Petty, 13-Reece Hodge, 12-Matt Toomua, 11-Marika Koroibete, 10-Kurtley Beale, 9-Will Genia, 8-Pete Samu, 7-Michael Hooper (captain), 6-Lukhan Tui, 5-Adam Coleman, 4-Rory Arnold, 3-Allan Alaalatoa, 2-Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1-Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16-Folau Faingaa, 17-Tom Robertson, 18-Taniela Tupou, 19-Izack Rodda, 20-Ned Hanigan, 21-Joe Powell, 22-Bernard Foley, 23-Jack Maddocks.
RESULTS
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