Roger Federer eases into next round of Australian Open

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA // Roger Federer did not waste any time today at the Australian Open, winning his opening match by playing like a man who doesn't want his remarkable 7 1/2-year run of success in Grand Slams to end.

Federer was rarely troubled in beating Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 in 84 minutes on the first day at Melbourne Park, barely waiting for ballboys and ballgirls to get back to their positions before serving.

"I tried to play offensive from the start and see where it takes me," Federer said. "I was able to keep on pressing, put him on the back foot. I was really happy I chose that tactic early on to pressure him."

Andy Roddick was rarely under pressure in his 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic. The eighth-seeded American is trying to end a Grand Slam drought. His one and only major came at the 2003 US Open.

"I had a good off season," Roddick said. "I feel healthy and strong for the first time in a while. I certainly feel like I'm prepared."

Sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych, who lost last year's Wimbledon final to Rafael Nadal, beat Marco Crugnola of Italy 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.

On the women's side, Caroline Wozniacki started her first major as the No 1-ranked woman with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Argentina's Gisela Dulko.

It was 20-year-old Wozniacki's first win of the year, following a straight-sets loss to Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova last week at the Sydney International and exhibition losses to No 2 Vera Zvonareva and Kim Clijsters in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Wozniacki won six tournaments in 2010, including four of her last six.

Fifth-seeded Venus Williams advanced after beating Sara Errani of Italy 6-3, 6-2. The American star is the only Williams sister in the draw this year after defending champion Serena withdrew because of a foot injury.

Maria Sharapova won for the first time at Melbourne Park since taking the 2008 title, beating Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-1, 6-3 in the opening match on Rod Laver Arena.

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Game Changer

Director: Shankar

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

Rating: 2/5

Results

2.15pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,950m

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2.45pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m

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3.15pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,000m

Winner: Leading Spirit, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

3.45pm: Jebel Ali Mile Group 3 Dh575,000 1,600m

Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,400m

Winner: Ode To Autumn, Patrick Cosgrave, Satish Seemar.

4.45pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh125,000 1,200m

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5.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,200m

Winner: Daltrey, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihi.

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.”