Top seed Gilles Simon of France was upset by Britain’s No 2 Aljaz Bedene, while two other high seeds survived upset bids on Tuesday during second-round play at the ATP Winston-Salem Open.
Bedene, ranked 58th in the world, battled through tiebreakers in all three sets and match point in the third against the 11th-ranked Simon to win 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/6).
Meanwhile, 15th-ranked Kevin Anderson, the No 2 seed, beat Mikhail Kukushkin 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Third-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, ranked 19th, downed Denis Istomin 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 at the Wake Forest Tennis Center in the final tuneup for next week’s US Open.
It was Bedene’s fourth career win over a Top 20 opponent since turning pro in 2008, and his third this season. Before Tuesday, Bedene’s previous career best came against then-No 14 Feliciano Lopez of Spain in the round of 16 at ATP Chennai in January.
“I haven’t beaten (someone) in the top 10 yet, so this is my best win,” the 26-year-old Bedene said. “It was tough. Gilles is known as one of the toughest guys on the tour. Coming back after losing the first set, and having served for it, is never easy. But I’m playing well. I can’t wait for my next match.”
His victory came in just the 12th ATP World Tour match this season to have tiebreakers in all three sets – three of those coming Tuesday at the Winston-Salem Open. Earlier in the day, Teymuraz Gabashvili beat Thanasi Kokkinakis 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/3); while Simone Bolleli needed just over two and a half hours to defeat seventh-seeded Sam Querrey 7-6 (9/7), 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (11/9).
“(Simon) was returning well, and I was returning well,” Bedene said. “We did not have so much advantage with our serve. Sometimes there were games (40)-zero, sometimes there were long ones.
“It was a close match – three tiebreaks. I don’t think I’ve ever played on the ATP Tour three tiebreaks.”
Simon had an opportunity to close out the third-set tiebreaker and win the match, going up 6-5 after getting a mini-break on Bedene’s serve. But Bedene got his own mini-break to even the score at 6-6, then won the next two points.
“I had my chances to win this match,” Simon said. “But Aljaz always played some great shots in the right moments to save some of them.
“I really tried to put everything I had on the court today, but my game just wasn’t good enough and Aljaz deserved to win.”
Simon and Querrey were among eight seeded players to fall Tuesday. Malek Jaziri upset fourth-seeded Viktor Troicki 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; Yen-Hsun Lu downed fifth-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 6-3; 19-year-old Hyeon Chung beat No 9 seed Benoit Paire 6-1, 6-4; Pablo Carreno Busta defeated 10th-seeded Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-4; Diego Schwartzman downed 12th-seeded Pablo Andujar 4-6, 7-5, 7-5; and Pierre-Hugues Herbert defeated 14th-seeded Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
Also winning Tuesday was Steve Johnson, 2014 finalist Jerzy Janowicz, 11th-seeded Jiri Vesely and sixth-seeded Thomaz Bellucci, who defeated top American prospect Frances Tiafoe, 17.
Johnson, seeded 13th and the only American player remaining, beat Sam Groth 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1.
Janowicz needed just less than 71 minutes to defeat defending champion Lukas Rosol 6-3, 6-2. Last year, Rosol rallied past Janowicz 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-5.
Vesely beat Martin Klizan 6-3, 6-4; and Bellucci downed Tiafoe 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7/2).
In US Open men’s qualifying, which began on Tuesday, only four seeds were eliminated early – Tatsuma Ito, Dusan Lajovic, Matthias Bachinger and Blaz Rola. Top-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu, the world No 80, advanced with little trouble. American 2014 junior Wimbledon champion Noah Rubin, 19, advanced as a wild-card to a meeting with third-seeded Guido Pella after beeting Huang Liang-chi. Another teenaged American wild card, 18-year-old Tommy Paul, was responsible for 24th-seeded Rola’s dismissal, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Sweden’s 19-year-old world No 132 Elias Ymer advanced to a meeting with No 98 Jan-Lennard Struff by blowing by Jan Satral 6-2, 6-1. Albert Montanes, the 21st seed, advanced when Spanish compatriot Jordi Samper-Montana retired, as well.
Wednesday continues qualifying with German 18-year-old rising star Alexander Zverev, the second seed, facing Argentine veteran Horacio Zeballos and American 17-year-old prospect Stefan Kozlov up against another Argentine, Guido Andreozzi. Another American 17-year-old, Reilly Opelka, faces Swede Christian Lindell. And Russia’s highly-rated Andrey Rublev, also 17, will meet 10th-seeded veteran Go Soeda.
New Indian No 1 Yuki Bhambri will also be tested by Japan’s 23rd-seeded 19-year-old Yoshihito Nishioka, with 20-year-old British No 3 Kyle Edmund facing Canadian Peter Polansky. In probably the most senior meeting of quaifying, 12th-seeded Nicolas Almagro, a former top-10 player, faces former world No 52 Igor Sijsling.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
%3Cp%3ECory%20Sandhagen%20v%20Umar%20Nurmagomedov%0D%3Cbr%3ENick%20Diaz%20v%20Vicente%20Luque%0D%3Cbr%3EMichael%20Chiesa%20v%20Tony%20Ferguson%0D%3Cbr%3EDeiveson%20Figueiredo%20v%20Marlon%20Vera%0D%3Cbr%3EMackenzie%20Dern%20v%20Loopy%20Godinez%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETickets%20for%20the%20August%203%20Fight%20Night%2C%20held%20in%20partnership%20with%20the%20Department%20of%20Culture%20and%20Tourism%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20went%20on%20sale%20earlier%20this%20month%2C%20through%20www.etihadarena.ae%20and%20www.ticketmaster.ae.%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber
The specs
The specs: 2019 Audi Q8
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 340hp @ 3,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Klipit%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Venkat%20Reddy%2C%20Mohammed%20Al%20Bulooki%2C%20Bilal%20Merchant%2C%20Asif%20Ahmed%2C%20Ovais%20Merchant%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Digital%20receipts%2C%20finance%2C%20blockchain%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%244%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Privately%2Fself-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20Specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.6-litre%204-cylinder%20petrol%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E118hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20149Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Six-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh61%2C500%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
GROUPS
Group Gustavo Kuerten
Novak Djokovic (x1)
Alexander Zverev (x3)
Marin Cilic (x5)
John Isner (x8)
Group Lleyton Hewitt
Roger Federer (x2)
Kevin Anderson (x4)
Dominic Thiem (x6)
Kei Nishikori (x7)
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.”