Novak Djokovic admitted that he might have played his final match at Roland Garros following his semi-final loss to world No 1 Jannik Sinner.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner, who turned 38 last month, conceded Sinner had been “too good for me” after going down 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 to the Italian on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Djokovic certainly made Sinner work for his victory which means the 23-year-old is now on a 20-match winning streak in majors as he heads into the final against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
And after the match, Djokovic revealed he is yet to decide whether he will back again in Paris next year in a bid to win a fourth French Open crown.
“This could have been the last match ever I played here – I don't know. That's why it was a bit more emotional at the end,” said the Serbian, who was Roland Garros champion in 2016, 2021 and 2023.
“But if this was the farewell match of Roland Garros for me in my career, it was a wonderful one in terms of the atmosphere and what I got from the crowd.”
When pressed on whether he would return, sixth seed Djokovic added: “I don't know right now. Twelve months at this point in my career is quite a long time.
“Do I wish to play more? Yes, I do. But will I be able to play in 12 months' time here again? I don't know. That's all I can say for the moment.”
But the former world No 1 did make clear that attempting to secure Grand Slam No 25 in London and New York later this year “are the priorities of my schedule”.
“Wimbledon and US Open, yes, they are in plans,” he said of the tournaments where he has seven and four titles, respectively. “That's all I can say right now.
“I feel like I want to play those two, for sure. For the rest, I'm not so sure.
“Wimbledon is my childhood favourite tournament. I'm going to do everything possible to get myself ready.
“I guess my best chances maybe are Wimbledon, you know, to win another Slam or maybe Australia.”
Sunday's first major final between Sinner and Djokovic feels very much the like changing of the guard of a men's game that has been dominated for so long by Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
With the latter two now retired and the former seemingly closing in on calling it a day, the two young guns of world tennis have taken centre stage.
Sinner, who is yet to drop a set in the tournament, will be hoping to gain revenge on Alcaraz after losing to the Spaniard in five sets in the semi-finals last year.
Alcaraz has won his last four matches against Sinner, including in the Italian Open final in May when Sinner returned from a three-month doping ban.
“It takes time to compare us with the big three,” said Sinner, who will be playing in his first Roland Garros final.
“I believe that tennis or every sport needs rivalries, no? This could be potentially one of these, but there are amazing players coming up.
“Sunday is going to be very difficult, I know my head-to-head lately doesn't look great against Carlos but let's see what I can do,” added Sinner, who is a three-time Grand Slam champion.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, secured his final spot against Sinner after his last-four opponent Lorenzo Musetti was forced to retire due to a leg injury with the Spaniard leading 4-6, 7-6, 6-0, 2-0.
The world's top two played each other less than three weeks ago when Alcaraz came out on top in Rome but the four-time major winner is fully aware of the challenge ahead of him.
“He's the best tennis player right now,” Alcaraz said of the Italian. “I mean, he's destroying every opponent.
“I love that battle. But most of the time is just about suffering, because [he pushes] you to the limit.
“It gives you feedback of how I can be a better player. I think that's important, and that's beautiful. Even if I win or not, it gives you a lot of stats and gives you feedback.
“It's going to be a really great Sunday for fans of tennis.”
The%20Killer
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Joe Root's Test record
Tests: 53; Innings: 98; Not outs: 11; Runs: 4,594; Best score: 254; Average: 52.80; 100s: 11; 50s: 27
RESULTS
5pm Wathba Stallions Cup Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Munfared, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Sawt Assalam, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Dergham Athbah, Pat Dobbs, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Rajee, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
7pm Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Kerless Del Roc, Fernando Jara, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner Pharoah King, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8pm Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner Sauternes Al Maury, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
Results
ATP Dubai Championships on Monday (x indicates seed):
First round
Roger Federer (SUI x2) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) bt Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-1, 7-6 (7/5)
Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS x4) 6-4, 6-1
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt Milos Raonic (CAN x7) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
FIXTURES
UAE’s remaining fixtures in World Cup qualification R2
Oct 8: Malaysia (h)
Oct 13: Indonesia (a)
Nov 12: Thailand (h)
Nov 17: Vietnam (h)
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.”
Zayed Sustainability Prize
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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