Rafael Nadal delivered himself the perfect belated birthday present on Monday by reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open as the Spaniard insisted he does not "feel old".
Nadal, who turned 32 on Sunday, closed out a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 win over a game Maximilian Marterer in the fourth round and will face Argentine 11th seed Diego Schwartzman for a place in the semi-finals.The world No 1's victory over Germany's Marterer was also his 900th win at ATP Tour level.
It also saw the Spaniard equal the record of 12 last-eight appearances at Roland Garros, which was set by Serbia's Novak Djokovic the day before.
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Read more:
Halep heads French Open quarters as Williams withdrawal overshadows fourth-round
Nadal bids for 11th crown, Sharapova times it right: French Open talking points
French Open predictions: Nadal to win title No 11? Will Halep make it third time lucky?
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Top seed Nadal is now on his own in third on the all-time list for most match wins at grand slam events with 234 victories after passing Jimmy Connors.
"I don't feel old, but I am 32, and I have been here since 2003, so it's a long way, a lot of years," he said. "I started very young. That's a real thing. But no, I feel happy to be here. Being honest, I am enjoying the day by day on the tour and I hope to keep doing this for a while."
Nadal powered 39 winners past Marterer, who pushed the Spaniard as hard as he could without ever threatening an upset.
Quarter-final opponent Schwartzman staged a thrilling comeback to down sixth seed Kevin Anderson 1-6, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-2.
"It's always good to see him in the quarter-final because he's a good friend, a good person. He's a worker, and I'm happy to see him having all this success," said Nadal, who had a brief practice session with Schwartzman last week.
The 16-time grand slam champion has now won 37 consecutive sets at Roland Garros, just four short of Bjorn Borg's record set between 1979 and 1981.
If Nadal's win was somewhat routine, Schwartzman had to fight back from the brink to set up his clash with the Spaniard.
Schwartzman clawed his way back from two sets down to stun Anderson and reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
He was totally outplayed in the first two sets, but twice broke Anderson when the South African was serving for the match to pull off a dramatic win.
The 25-year-old, who stands at 5ft 7in, said that the story of David and Goliath helped him believe he could down the 6ft 8in Anderson.
"Did you read David and Goliath? That's why. That's why," Schwartzman said. "I read it when I was young in the school, and I just try to think that when I see Kevin or the guys who have two metres."
World No 7 Anderson, who was looking to become the first South African man to make the last eight in Paris since Cliff Drysdale 51 years ago, has now lost in the fourth round at Roland Garros on four occasions.
Fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro brushed aside John Isner 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2012.
The 29-year-old Argentine was knocked out in the third round at Roland Garros last year after missing the previous four tournaments in Paris through injury.
Del Potro will next face either fellow former US Open champion and third seed Marin Cilic, who held off a fight back from Italy's Fabio Fognini to book his meeting with the Argentine.
Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, appeared in cruise control when he took a two-set lead over a physically struggling Fognini, who called the trainer and was seen taking tablets.
However, the 18th seed claimed the third and fourth sets to force a decider before Cilic closed out the match 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4.
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Gulf rugby
Who’s won what so far in 2018/19
Western Clubs Champions League: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens: Dubai Hurricanes
West Asia Premiership: Bahrain
What’s left
UAE Conference
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Hurricanes II v Al Ain Amblers, Jebel Ali Dragons II v Dubai Tigers
March 29, final
UAE Premiership
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Exiles v Jebel Ali Dragons, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Hurricanes
March 29, final
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.”
Scoreline
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 17
Jebel Ali Dragons 20
Harlequins Tries: Kinivilliame, Stevenson; Cons: Stevenson 2; Pen: Stevenson
Dragons Tries: Naisau, Fourie; Cons: Love 2; Pens: Love 2
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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