It was eight years ago when Roger Federer last stood on the verge of winning three grand slam tournaments in a calendar year.
The Swiss player had already won the French Open and Wimbledon, and had navigated his way through to the 2009 US Open final where standing in his way was Argentine player Juan Martin del Potro.
Federer had been strong favourite to win a 17th career grand slam, but Del Potro, then aged 20, had shown remarkable nerve and poise, in what was his first major final, to come from a set down twice before winning 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2.
Del Potro looked like a superstar on that night in New York and it looked as if he had arrived as a serious player at the top of the game.
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But, the 2009 US Open remains Del Potro's sole appearance in a the final of a major as injury problems have wrecked much of his career since then.
A wrist injury, which required surgery in 2010, broke up his momentum, and though he got himself back up and competing and was up to No 4 in the world by January 2014, the spot he had been in before his physical issues began four years earlier, more problems were ahead.
Multiple surgeries on a second wrist injury meant he missed most of 2014 and 2015 and was outside the top 1,000 in the ATP rankings by the time he made his comeback in early 2016.
The highlight of Del Potro's return was beating then world No 1 Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal on his way to taking the silver medal at the Rio Olympics, and then leading Argentina to their first Davis Cup success in November.
It was a reminder of the talent that Del Potro has, and the heart and belief he has demonstrated throughout his career, from having the nerve to beat the best player in the world in your first appearance in a grand slam final, to having the drive to return to the upper echelons of the game from a career threatening injury.
This had been a quieter year thus far for Del Potro. He had started the year at No 38 in the world and entered the US Open ranked No 28, with a run to the quarter-finals at the Rome Masters the high point.
But, the flashes of the old Del Potro have resurfaced in New York in his run to the quarter-finals and a date with Federer on Wednesday.
He had looked doomed against sixth seed Dominic Thiem in the fourth round on Monday, losing the first two sets 6-1, 6-2.
But he fought back, surviving two match points, to win the next three sets 6-1, 7-6, 6-4.
Understandably, given they have never met at the US Open before, there is a lot of focus on the fact that if Federer wins, and Nadal beats Andrey Rublev in his quarter-final, they will meet in the semi-finals on Friday.
Federer, however, will not be looking beyond Del Potro, who he will know is a dangerous threat to his hopes of a 20th grand slam crown.
Del Potro is not the player he was eight years, but the power in his groundstrokes remains there and his spirit is as dogged as ever, as Thiem will attest.
Federer has overcome his bumpy start to the tournament when he went to five sets in his opening two matches, and while not firing on all cylinders, he was far too good for Philipp Kohlschreiber on Monday in the fourth round.
Federer should be too strong for Del Potro, especially if he can find the form that saw him not drop a set on the way to winning Wimbledon for an eighth time in July.
It has been nine years since the last of Federer's five US Open crowns came his way and, especially with the way the bottom half of the draw has opened, he will not have much better chances, at the age of 36, of winning that sixth Flushing Meadows title.
Del Potro, and in all probability Nadal, still stand in his way, but if he maintains the play that accounted for Kohlschreiber in straight sets then he should be on one side of the net when the men's final takes place on Sunday.
Del Potro stopped him once before, and it will not be for lack of effort and passion, if the Argentine comes up short this time around.
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Scores in brief:
Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rob O’Donnell 67 not out, Kyle Abbott 3-21).
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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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Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
