Petra Kvitova lifts the Miami Open trophy after beating Elena Rybakina in the final. AP
Petra Kvitova lifts the Miami Open trophy after beating Elena Rybakina in the final. AP
Petra Kvitova lifts the Miami Open trophy after beating Elena Rybakina in the final. AP
Petra Kvitova lifts the Miami Open trophy after beating Elena Rybakina in the final. AP

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Tennis

Petra Kvitova beats Elena Rybakina to win Miami Open title and return to top 10

Czech claims 7-6, 6-2 victory against 'sunshine double'-chasing Kazakh for 30th WTA Tour title

AFP

April 02, 2023

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Petra Kvitova drew on all her experience to claim her 30th WTA singles title with a straight sets Miami Open victory over Elena Rybakina on Saturday.

Czech Kvitova, appearing in her first Miami final at the age of 33, triumphed 7-6, 6-2 at Hard Rock Stadium, a victory which will return the veteran to the top 10 in the world rankings.

Rybakina came into the final on a career-best 13-match winning streak after winning the title at Indian Wells and was looking for the rare 'sunshine double' of both WTA Masters events.

It was a tight, serve-dominated battle until Kvitova broke to go 5-4 up but Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, immediately broke back.

The tiebreak was a thrilling 22-minute, 30-point shootout in which two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova saved five set points to emerge triumphant when Rybakina returned to the net.

Kvitova took that momentum into the second set, breaking early to go 2-0 up and from then on she never looked like letting her opponent, 11 years her junior, back into the contest.

Rybakina couldn't convert a break point in the next game and then she herself was broken again when serving to stay in the match at 5-2 down.

Kvitova, who has now won 30 of 41 career finals, said the tie-break had turned the contest in her direction.

"I'm still surprised. I think the tiebreak really decided the whole match in the end ... it was probably the longest in my career and somehow I managed it," she said.

"(She hit) so many aces at the beginning of the tie-break, I was like oh my God, I couldn't even play, so it was a little difficult," added Kvitova, who now has nine WTA 1000 titles.

"I had to slowly serve it out very well today and I am glad I made it in the end but to be honest I have no idea how I did it."

Kvitova won 78 per cent of her service points (52 of 67) and finished with 29 winners to 14 unforced errors

Rybakina fired 12 aces in the match and became the first player since Serena Williams at 2016 Wimbledon to hit 10 or more aces in six consecutive matches in a single tournament.

The ATP final on Sunday features Russia's Daniil Medvedev against Italian Jannik Sinner, who beat Carlos Alcaraz in Friday's semi-final.

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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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Rating: 4/5

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Dos

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Don’ts 

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Updated: April 02, 2023, 6:58 AM
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