Jim Courier defeats Paul Haarhuis in straight sets to book his place in the semi-finals.
Jim Courier defeats Paul Haarhuis in straight sets to book his place in the semi-finals.

Courier wins in Dubai legends



Jim Courier got his Legends Rock Dubai campaign off to a flying start with a straight sets win over the defending champion Paul Haarhuis. The 38-year-old former world No 1, winner of four Grand Slams during his heydays and 19 other singles title, won the first set in tie-break and clinched the second 6-4. "It is great to win a match like that," said the American, who lost to Haarhuis in the tournament last year. "He is a very cheeky player and this is a huge win for me." Courier will play Sergi Bruguera tomorrow for a place in the final. "I have got my revenge against Haarhuis for last year and now I am looking for revenge against Sergi Bruguera for the 1993 French Open loss. This week is all about revenge for me," he added. Courier, the current leader on the Sanford Champions Rankings, was merciless from the back of the court, moving like a well-oiled mean machine to keep Haarhuis from coming to the net. The Dutchman, 42 and Courier's senior by four years, is still a difficult proposition to face with his serve and volley, and inevitably won a point every time he came to the forecourt. With both unrelenting in their contrasting court craft and boasting strong serves, the first set had to be decided by the tie-break, where Courier fought back after an early double fault to win 9-7. A double fault by Haarhuis and his handful of errors helped, of course. The loss of the set clearly upset the rhythm of Haarhuis, one of the few players who can boast of a winning record against Pete Sampras. He was not the same in the second set and was down love-40 in the opening game, but managed to avoid a break. However, with fatigue fast setting in, Haarhuis dropped his serve in the seventh game after being 40-15 and that was all that Courier needed to romp through. The American saved two break points to serve out for the match. Earlier, Mansour Bahrami entertained the fans with his trickery in a doubles exhibition match against the former Australian doubles star John Fitzgerald and his Swedish partner Anders Jarryd. Bahrami, the moustached Iranian magician, lobbed balls sitting on the line umpire's chair and raced around the court playing a virtuoso as his partner Sergi Bruguera stood with his arms crossed and applauded. The fan favourites, of course, won 8-7 (11-10). "Playing with Mansour is just unbelievable," said the former world No 1 Bruguera, a clay court specialist who won two consecutive French Open men's singles title in 1993 and 1994. "He plays shots that no one else can. Sometimes I just stand there and watch him play those magical shots. It's a great joy and you can only applaud." arizvi@thenational.ae

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

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Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

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The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding

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.”

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

How to avoid crypto fraud
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE SPECS

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Power: 420kW

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Transmission: 8-speed automatic

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
TO A LAND UNKNOWN

Director: Mahdi Fleifel

Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa

Rating: 4.5/5

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The%20specs
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Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Book%20Details
%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EThree%20Centuries%20of%20Travel%20Writing%20by%20Muslim%20Women%3C%2Fem%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEditors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiobhan%20Lambert-Hurley%2C%20Daniel%20Majchrowicz%2C%20Sunil%20Sharma%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EIndiana%20University%20Press%3B%20532%20pages%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
​​​​​​​Penguin Press

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.