Jo Wilfried Tsonga became the first man through to the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Championships after scheduled opponent Nikolay Davydenko pulled out of their last 16 match on Wednesday.
The Russian withdrew because of a rib injury, meaning the No 5 seed did not have to set foot on court to progress.
The Frenchman will meet either Tomas Berdych, the No 3 seed and finalist in last year’s competition, or Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky for a place in the semi-finals on Thursday.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, the No 4 seed and five-time champion in Dubai, will both be in action in the evening session Wednesday.
Djokovic takes on Roberto Bautista Agut after Federer has gone on up against Radek Stepanek.
Meanwhile, the Arab world’s top-ranked player progressed to the last eight stage after coming out on top during a second round tie billed as a “Clash of the Wildcards”.
Malek Jaziri, a 30 year-old Tunisian, defeated Somdev Devvarman of India 6-3, 7-5 at the Aviation Club to secure a place in the last eight of an ATP tournament for the first time since he reached the semi-final of the Kremlin Cup in October 2012.
Wildcard Devvarman progressed following Juan Martin del Potro’s retirement on Tuesday, while Jaziri – who was competing in Mexico last week when he accepted the invite from Dubai organisers – fought back from a 0-6 first set defeat to beat Dutchman Igor Sijsling 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in his first round tie.
“I arrived here after a long trip: 24-hours, three planes,” Jaziri said. “It was not easy to arrive by Sunday night and I was afraid I would only be able to play one set, yet now I’m in the quarter-finals, so I’m very happy.”
Under the harsh mid-day sun, Jaziri served strongly, notching five aces in the opening set, and showed good movement throughout. Devvarman did not wilt, yet rarely threatened also.
“All the match was so-so, but on important points I served well,” Jaziri said. “I tried to play more often at the front of the court and to play my own game and fight on the court. Now I’ll try to recover as best I can to be ready for [today’s] match.”
Jaziri, ranked No 137 in the world, will face Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, who beat Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-3, later today. The two players have met only once before, in the second round at Wimbledon two years ago. Kohlscreiber won in three straight sets.
“I have a lot of experience and more confidence now,” Jaziri said. “I’ll try to focus on my game and myself and hope I’ll be ready.”
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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
Emiratisation at work
Emiratisation was introduced in the UAE more than 10 years ago
It aims to boost the number of citizens in the workforce particularly in the private sector.
Growing the number of Emiratis in the workplace will help the UAE reduce dependence on overseas workers
The Cabinet in December last year, approved a national fund for Emirati jobseekers and guaranteed citizens working in the private sector a comparable pension
President Sheikh Khalifa has described Emiratisation as “a true measure for success”.
During the UAE’s 48th National Day, Sheikh Khalifa named education, entrepreneurship, Emiratisation and space travel among cornerstones of national development
More than 80 per cent of Emiratis work in the federal or local government as per 2017 statistics
The Emiratisation programme includes the creation of 20,000 new jobs for UAE citizens
UAE citizens will be given priority in managerial positions in the government sphere
The purpose is to raise the contribution of UAE nationals in the job market and create a diverse workforce of citizens
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
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.”
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Apple product price list
iPad Pro
11" - $799 (64GB)
12.9" - $999 (64GB)
MacBook Air
$1,199
Mac Mini
$799
