Teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva followed up her historic Dubai title win last month by fighting back from a set down against Aryna Sabalenka to beat the world No 1 in the Indian Wells final.
Andreeva became the youngest ever player to win an elite 1000 level crown when she defeated Clara Tauson in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final.
That run saw the 17-year-old defeat three Grand Slam winners on her way to victory over the Dane after knocking out Marketa Vondrousova, Elena Rybakina and world No 2 Iga Swiatek.
In California, Andreeva once again beat Tauson, Rybakina and Swiatek en route to facing the top-ranked Sabalenka in the final, with the Belarusian making a flying start by taking the first set.
But Andreeva hit back to level proceedings before breaking the three-time Grand Slam champion three times in the third set, on her way to a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win on Sunday evening.
“I would like to thank myself for fighting to the end, for always believing and for never quitting,” said Andreeva, who pushed her 2025 record to 19-3 – the most wins of any woman on the WTA tour.
“I was running like a rabbit today because Aryna she was sending bullets and it was really hard to keep up.”
At 17 years and 321 days old, the Russian became the third-youngest woman to hoist the Indian Wells trophy after Martina Hingis (17 years, 166 days) and Serena Williams (17 years, 169 days).
By beating defending champion Swiatek in the semis, she also became the first player under the age of 18 to beat the top two at the same WTA tournament since Williams beat Lindsay Davenport and Hingis at the 1999 US Open.
“Maybe it's happening fast, but I like it,” Andreeva said after ensuring she will climb to a career-high sixth in the world. “If it's happening fast, I take it.”
Andreeva credits the steadying influence of coach Conchita Martinez for settling her nerves on Sunday, when she was a bundle of nerves as she prepared to take on Sabalenka, who had won four of their previous five encounters, including two this year.
“I would actually say that I was a brat, and there were a lot of nerves as well,” Andreeva said of her Sunday morning self.
“When I'm nervous, I kind of tend to close my personality a little bit, so I don't let anybody in. I don't really talk much.
“Conchita tried to kind of create a nice and relaxed atmosphere around us today, but in the morning it was a bit tough for me because I was nervous. In the end, she did good with it.”
Sabalenka had powered into the final without dropping a set but it was another disappointment for the Belarusian, who was stunned by Madison Keys in the final at Melbourne to see her bid for a third successive Australian Open title denied.
Unlike in Melbourne when she played “like a joke”, Sabalenka said this time she let her emotions get the better of her.
“Honestly, was me against me,” she said. “I made a lot of unforced errors on important points, and I just let her play a little bit better … I was just too angry with myself, because it shouldn't be the way I finished and I was just angry with myself.
“I should have just thrown that aggression on that side instead of being too hard on myself.”
Sabalenka questioned her own desire after a last-16 exit to world No 38 Tausen in Dubai which meant she had won just one of the three matches she contested during the Middle East swing.
“I believe that I'm not that hungry on court,” said Sabalenka following her loss to Tauson in the UAE.
“I'm kind of all over the place in my thoughts and not consistent on the court. The decisions I'm making on the court are a bit wrong and emotionally, I'm not on my best.”
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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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