Rafael Nadal seems to be getting desperate. At least, that is how it seems to a few of the experts, given the Spaniard’s perplexing decision to return to Hamburg for a tournament on clay, two weeks before the start of the American hard-court swing with the Montreal Masters on August 10.
Common wisdom would suggest the Spaniard could have used this week to prepare himself for the gruelling hard-court season instead and a Rafael Nadal of, say 2013 or earlier, would have done just that.
But the Rafael Nadal of 2015 is a different animal – he is not the fearless matador we have grown accustomed to seeing over the years; not the same beast we have watched perform countless acts of awe.
Read more:
– Tennis week ahead: Rafa Nadal starts with Verdasco at Hamburg; Russia’s Rublev, 17, in action in Gstaad
– Rafael Nadal returns to clay courts in a bid to rescue faltering season
The Nadal of today is a pale shadow of that man, shaken and searching for confidence. And what better place to find it than his favourite surface?
Yes, he has looked mortal on clay as well this season, finishing the European clay-court swing without a title for the first time since 2005.
But he has won a title on the surface this year, in Buenos Aires, and a good show in Hamburg could turn the tide for Nadal, according to his uncle and coach Toni.
“For him, the transition from one surface to another is always a problem,” Toni said. “However, I think that playing Hamburg will help him.
“If he will play a good tournament he will play tournaments in America with more confidence.”
If this strategy fails, however, and Nadal goes on to have a miserable summer on hard courts, the knives will certainly be out for Toni again.
“Get a new damn coach!” John McEnroe, the American seven-time major winner, said on the BBC following Nadal’s second-round loss to qualifier Dustin Brown at Wimbledon last month in four sets.
Referring to Toni, McEnroe added: “He has done a magnificent job since he [Rafa] was a little kid … but clearly at this stage it would appear that some fresh ideas would be in order.”
Many others have voiced similar opinions since, but Nadal is probably right in not making that decision just yet.
The coach is not his problem, or solution, at the moment, and, for once, his health is not an issue either. The problem, as both Toni and Rafa have said, is mental.
The 14-time grand slam champion has often been described as neurotic for his on-court rituals and idiosyncrasies, which include picking at his underwear and placing his water bottles in a certain direction.
According to estimates, Nadal has around 12 pre-serve compulsions and about 20 on-court rituals, and he must perform all of them to get “the order I seek in my head”.
That order seems to be missing at the moment and no coach can help him find it.
Nadal will have to go looking on his own; clay courts are his best chance of finding it.
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Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
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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Sarfraz (c), Zaman, Imam, Masood, Azam, Malik, Asif, Sohail, Shadab, Nawaz, Ashraf, Hasan, Amir, Junaid, Shinwari and Afridi
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 1 (Gundogan 56')
Shakhtar Donetsk 1 (Solomon 69')