NEW YORK // Kim Clijsters considers herself a mother first, a tennis player second.
Yes, the Belgian is the defending champion and seeded No 2 at the US Open, making her a popular pick to win the year's last grand slam tournament, which begins today.
And, yes, she considers herself obligated to help promote her sport by offering to do things such as throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a Major League Baseball game, which was on her schedule on Friday when the New York Mets played host to the Houston Astros.
None of that, though, is as important to Clijsters as her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Jada.
"It's about balancing; just listening to yourself. I have days when I want to spend time with Jada, and I don't want to go to practice, and I want to make sure I'm there for her," Clijsters said. "And, luckily, I'm not the type of athlete who, if I don't do it, I'm going to be panicking."
Clijsters, 27, said many players feel compelled to adhere strictly to whatever workout or practice routines are established for them by a coach or trainer.
She, on the other hand, is OK with taking an afternoon off, if that's what she thinks she needs to do.
"I'm like, if I don't do it today, it's not like my game won't be the same tomorrow," she said, gesturing with her left arm, the one that bears a tattoo of Jada's name on the wrist. "In that way, I'm probably more easygoing. I live in the moment and see how I feel."
With a racket in her hand, Clijsters is at her best on hard courts. All three of her tournament titles in 2010 came on that surface, including at a US Open warm-up event at Cincinnati this month.
"I've always felt more comfortable on this surface, not just this year, but even when I was 14, 15, 16 - when I started playing my first few summer series in America," she said. "I don't know what it is, but I feel like I can move better, and I can see the ball better. Everything comes easier."
She owns a 14-match winning streak at the US Open, taking the title the last two times she entered, in 2005 and 2009. Clijsters missed the tournament in 2006 because of a wrist injury, then was away from the tour for about two-and-a-half years while she got married and had a baby.
In one breath, she says she does not think about numbers like that 14-0 record. Yet in the next, she says she knows that if she plays well, she "can beat anybody out there".
Clijsters was treated for a cramp near her left hip during her most recent match, a three-set loss to Vera Zvonareva, the Wimbledon runner-up, in the quarter-finals at Montreal a week ago. But Clijsters says she is healthy, thanks in part to acupuncture.
If she is able to move at her best, Clijsters will be expected to go far the next two weeks, especially against a field missing Serena Williams, the three-time US Open champion and Justine Henin, a two-time winner, both sidelined by injuries.
"Because Serena's gone, and Henin's out, the women's side is open for the taking," said John McEnroe, who won seven Grand Slam titles and is now a television analyst. "Kim has positioned herself well in terms of what she needs to do to defend her title."
Given that Clijsters already stepped away from the game once, it is not clear, even to her, how much longer she may be trying to defend titles. She said she hopes to play until the 2012 London Olympics, where the tennis competition will be held at the All England Club.
"I've never played in the Olympics, and that's something I would like to try. But then, on the other hand, we would also like to have more children," Clijsters said. "So, I'm kind of like, 'We'll see'."
* Associated Press
Surface: Hard courts.
Site: Billie Jean King National Tennis Stadium in New York.
Schedule: Today to September 12.
Top seeds: Men, Rafael Nadal of Spain; Women, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.
2009 singles winners: Men, Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina (out with wrist injury); Women, Kim Clijsters of Belgium.
Prize money: $22.7 million, with $1.7 million each to the men's and women's singles champions.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
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Torque: 385 and 650Nm
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Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
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Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Director: Magizh Thirumeni
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Rating: 4/5
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Director: Kangana Ranaut
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Rating: 2/5
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.”
