Novak Djokovic left fans and viewers scratching their head at the All England Club on Monday as he went on a bizarre rant, accusing Wimbledon fans of "disrespect" after reaching a 60th Grand Slam quarter-final.
Djokovic, the world No 2 and seven-time champion at Wimbledon, made it clear he was not happy with the behaviour of supporters during his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over 15th-ranked Holger Rune.
Djokovic took exception to constant chants of "Rune" throughout the match at Centre Court, which the Serb interpreted as boos directed at him.
"To all the fans that have had respect and stayed here tonight, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I appreciate it," said a seemingly angry Djokovic.
"And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player – in this case me – have a goooooooood night," he added, mocking the chants of "Ruuuuune".
The interviewer then informed Djokovic that fans were shouting "Rune" rather than "boo", but the Serbian star was having none of it.
"They were [booing]. They were. I am not accepting it. No, no, no. I know they were cheering for Rune but that's an excuse to also boo," he said.
"Listen, I have been on the tour for more than 20 years. I know all the tricks, I know how it works. I focus on the respectful people that pay for the ticket, and love tennis and appreciate the players.
"I have played in much more hostile environments, trust me – you guys can't touch me."
Later in the post-match presser, Djokovic said there is not much organisers can do to check crowd behaviour.
“Look, I don’t know what Wimbledon can really do about it. I mean, in those particular moments when it happens, the crowd paid their tickets. They have the right to be there and cheer the way they want to cheer. That’s absolutely something they choose – how they behave or how they choose to support the player is really up to them,” Djokovic said.
“Yes, you could argue maybe a chair umpire or whoever can step in in certain moments and calm them down, but there’s not much you can do. You’re not going to take out the whole section of the crowd or stadium because they’re misbehaving.”
The strange turn of events took some sheen off his impressive win. Djokovic, who dropped sets in the second and third rounds, was expected to be tested by Rune, but instead gave the young Dane a harsh lesson over two hours.
The Serb, 37, still wearing a knee support on his right knee after surgery last month, did not drop a single point in the opening three games against his opponent.
He engineered a single break in the second set before two more breaks in the third set sealed a quarter-final against Australian ninth seed Alex de Minaur.
In another pulsating last-16 match, Alexander Zverev turned up on court wearing a protective support around his leg after falling awkwardly during his previous match.
That did not stop the German trading brutal blows with Taylor Fritz for three-and-a-half hours before he fell to a 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-3 defeat after he was finally broken for the first time at this year's championships having chalked up 56 successive holds of serve.
Zverev fired down 19 aces, produced 55 winners and even won the longest rally in the contest which dragged on for 21 shots. But by the end of it, the German said he had been playing "on one leg".
"It was fairly obvious that I wasn't 100 per cent today, right?" Zverev asked reporters before elaborating that an MRI scan had shown that he had a tear in his knee capsule as well as bone bruising.
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.”
Fixtures
Friday Leganes v Alaves, 10.15pm; Valencia v Las Palmas, 12.15am
Saturday Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad, 8.15pm; Girona v Atletico Madrid, 10.15pm; Sevilla v Espanyol, 12.15am
Sunday Athletic Bilbao v Getafe, 8.15am; Barcelona v Real Betis, 10.15pm; Deportivo v Real Madrid, 12.15am
Monday Levante v Villarreal, 10.15pm; Malaga v Eibar, midnight
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Rest
(Because Music)
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
