Last week, we handed out awards to the women of the WTA, to highlight some of their standout off-court achievements and qualities.
This week, we take a look at the men’s tour and make our picks for the 2020 ATP Alternative Awards.
Activism award: Frances Tiafoe
The 22-year-old American spearheaded a ‘Racquets down, Hands up’ campaign with his girlfriend Ayan Broomfield in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Tiafoe and Broomfield rallied together a host of players from the black tennis community, including Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Gael Monfils, Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens, and many more to take part in their video that highlights racial injustice. The montage is set to the Oscar-winning song Glory, written and performed by John Legend and Common for the film Selma.
“Ayan and I felt the need to reach out to express our feelings for what is and for what has been going on here in America … Today, we put our racquets down and our hands up,” Tiafoe said in the video.
He told Sky Sports this week that he hopes to continue raising awareness in the future.
“It definitely felt good when I raised awareness, to see how far that video went and what that meant to them to try and make people understand. I'm happy about it, I'm just going to keep doing my part,” said Tiafoe.
Keeping Things in Perspective award: Rafael Nadal
The Spaniard has helped provide a constant reminder of what is really important during the challenging times following tennis' resumption in August from the coronavirus-enforced suspension.
Moments after he won a record-equalling 20th grand slam and record-extending 13th Roland Garros crown in Paris, Nadal was quick to send out a heartwarming message.
“I want to send a message to everyone around the world. We are facing one of the worst moments that I think we remember in this world, facing and fighting against this virus. Just keep going, stay positive and all the very best, together probably we will go through this and we will beat the virus soon,” said the Mallorcan.
During his press conference, Nadal added: “Of course, it is an important day for me, but I'm not stupid, no? It's still a very sad situation worldwide.”
Nadal’s perspective and general attitude while competing during the pandemic provided a healthy template for others to follow.
Tunisian star Ons Jabeur admitted that she was discouraged by the difficult and cold conditions the players were facing at the rescheduled French Open.
“I was like, 'Why are we playing?' Obviously I was looking how Rafa was taking this whole situation. To be honest, if he's a champion and he doesn't complain about it, I mean, who am I to complain about it right now?” she explained.
Resident Philosopher award: Stefanos Tsitsipas
The 22-year-old Greek has become famous for his introspective press conferences and philosophical social media posts. Even when he’s just previewing one of his matches, he often opts for a bold statement instead of giving a typical cliché answer. “I'm chasing something spectacular,” he said ahead of his Roland Garros semi-final in October.
When he lost to Novak Djokovic a couple of days later, he tweeted: “At the end of the day, all you need is hope, persistence and strength. Your future needs you. Your past doesn’t. Thank you @rolandgarros.”
“If you invest in yourself, you will love yourself. Make it so as if your life depends on it. It's a good principal,” he posted recently.
Tsitsipas acknowledges that he might not always be understood, but it’s actually something he takes pride in.
“These posts express my inner creativity,” he told Behind the Racquet earlier this year.
“I’m just trying to be different from the rest. I put Stefanos’ twist on life. I am philosophical, I come from a country with a history of philosophy and I don’t know if I was Pythagoras or Socrates in my previous life, but I wouldn’t mind being either one.”
Voice of Reason award: Nick Kyrgios
The talented Australian is no stranger to making headlines. Whether he’s hitting outrageous tweeners, nailing underhand serves, upsetting a ‘Big Three’ player, or throwing a tantrum on court, Kyrgios always manages to elicit strong responses from the media and the public.
His unfiltered nature often lands him in hot water but not this year. In 2020, Kyrgios won over many of his detractors by emerging as a voice of reason during these difficult times.
He started the year by pledging $200 for every ace he hit during the Australian summer to help with the raging bushfires that swept through his nation and many players followed suit. His efforts led Tennis Australia to stage the Rally for Relief that raised almost A$5 million to aid bushfire charities.
During the coronavirus shutdown, he delivered essential items to people in need after offering to help out on his social media, and he has been one of the fiercest critics of the irresponsible antics of his fellow players.
The Canberra native repeatedly called out the participants of the Adria Tour – which was staged with little to no safety measures in the Balkans mid-pandemic – and later slammed Alexander Zverev for partying in the South of France after promising to self-isolate for being in close contact with several positive cases. "I'm trying to hold them accountable," Kyrgios said.
The 25-year-old can be a divisive personality but it’s hard to argue with his level-headed stance throughout the pandemic.
Hit-maker award: Corentin Moutet
The entertaining French lefty showcases lots of flair on court and is just as gifted off it. He released his debut rap EP Écorché in September, after featuring on the track Drip with Canadian player Denis Shapovalov earlier in the year.
Moutet, 21, started playing the piano when he was injured at the age of 15 and got into rap a couple of years ago, before finishing his first album during quarantine.
“I take music as therapy because it’s nice to write and get rid of everything you’re feeling inside, both good and bad,” he told atptour.com. “I like the connection with people on social media through music as well. Even if you don’t speak the same language, you can speak to a lot of people through music.”
Best Post-loss Speaker award: Novak Djokovic
You’d be hard-pressed to find a better post-loss speaker in men’s tennis than Djokovic.
To be fair the Serb doesn’t lose many matches, but when he does, there’s usually a lot on the line and it would be understandable if he wanted to keep things short when speaking to reporters in an effort to leave the venue as soon as possible. Djokovic doesn’t do that though. Instead, he has mastered the art of talking to the media after suffering a defeat.
After falling to Nadal in the French Open final in October, the world No 1 gave credit to the Spaniard before sharing his own philosophy on dealing with defeat.
“Today you showed why you’re ‘King of clay,’ I have experienced it on my own skin,” he told Nadal on court.
In his press conference he added: “I don't have much to say but that I was completely overplayed by Rafa, by a better player on the court.
“In the greatest of defeats, you learn the greatest lessons as a tennis player, but as a person as well.”
Djokovic explained how he constantly reminds himself to be grateful for the life he has, and that that taking-nothing-for-granted perspective helps him bounce back.
When asked if he was worried about not being able to catch Nadal and Roger Federer in the race for most Grand Slams won, Djokovic told B92.net: “If I thought it was too late I would have ended my career today. But I do not think it is too late. I will keep on going as long as I have fuel in my legs and love and desire towards the sport. One defeat even though it is a Grand Slam final, cannot destabilise me. As the English say, I've developed 'thick skin' and I do not allow myself to be disturbed by various speculations and situations of this kind.”
It really was a masterclass in accepting defeat.
Rising Above the Hype award: Jannik Sinner
There has been a lot of hype surrounding the 19-year-old Italian and this season, he somehow lived up to it, while wisely ignoring it.
Sinner reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final in Paris in the fall, upsetting Zverev and David Goffin along the way, and actually won more games against Nadal in the last-eight stage than Djokovic managed in the final.
He was told by a reporter at the French Open that a pundit predicted he’d be in the top 10 within a year. Sinner’s response was spot on.
“I'm a person who looks not in the future and not in the past, always in the present. At the end you have to show everything. I haven't won anything until now.
“It's just head down and trying to improve, trying to play hours after hours on court, which I need to do. I have a great team behind me. We will see in 12 months where I am.”
He won his maiden ATP title a few weeks later in Sofia to finish the year ranked inside the top 40.
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
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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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
From exhibitions to the battlefield
In 2016, the Shaded Dome was awarded with the 'De Vernufteling' people's choice award, an annual prize by the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers and the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers for the most innovative project by a Dutch engineering firm.
It was assigned by the Dutch Ministry of Defence to modify the Shaded Dome to make it suitable for ballistic protection. Royal HaskoningDHV, one of the companies which designed the dome, is an independent international engineering and project management consultancy, leading the way in sustainable development and innovation.
It is driving positive change through innovation and technology, helping use resources more efficiently.
It aims to minimise the impact on the environment by leading by example in its projects in sustainable development and innovation, to become part of the solution to a more sustainable society now and into the future.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
The specs
Engine: 2.2-litre, turbodiesel
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Power: 160hp
Torque: 385Nm
Price: Dh116,900
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
WHY%20AAYAN%20IS%20'PERFECT%20EXAMPLE'
%3Cp%3EDavid%20White%20might%20be%20new%20to%20the%20country%2C%20but%20he%20has%20clearly%20already%20built%20up%20an%20affinity%20with%20the%20place.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EAfter%20the%20UAE%20shocked%20Pakistan%20in%20the%20semi-final%20of%20the%20Under%2019%20Asia%20Cup%20last%20month%2C%20White%20was%20hugged%20on%20the%20field%20by%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20the%20team%E2%80%99s%20captain.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EWhite%20suggests%20that%20was%20more%20a%20sign%20of%20Aayan%E2%80%99s%20amiability%20than%20anything%20else.%20But%20he%20believes%20the%20young%20all-rounder%2C%20who%20was%20part%20of%20the%20winning%20Gulf%20Giants%20team%20last%20year%2C%20is%20just%20the%20sort%20of%20player%20the%20country%20should%20be%20seeking%20to%20produce%20via%20the%20ILT20.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20is%20a%20delightful%20young%20man%2C%E2%80%9D%20White%20said.%20%E2%80%9CHe%20played%20in%20the%20competition%20last%20year%20at%2017%2C%20and%20look%20at%20his%20development%20from%20there%20till%20now%2C%20and%20where%20he%20is%20representing%20the%20UAE.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20was%20influential%20in%20the%20U19%20team%20which%20beat%20Pakistan.%20He%20is%20the%20perfect%20example%20of%20what%20we%20are%20all%20trying%20to%20achieve%20here.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20about%20the%20development%20of%20players%20who%20are%20going%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE%20and%20go%20on%20to%20help%20make%20UAE%20a%20force%20in%20world%20cricket.%E2%80%9D%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.8-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C200rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%20from%201%2C800-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.7L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh111%2C195%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
