Andy Murray upbeat after practice session with Roger Federer ahead of Wimbledon - in pictures


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Andy Murray revealed he was feeling more confident after a practice session with Roger Federer as he prepares for the opening match at Wimbledon on Monday.

Murray, 34, hit with his rival on Friday ahead of his first singles match at the All England Club since 2017, against 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Murray, who has been battling a groin problem for the past three months, was quoted by the Press Association as saying: "I've had some good practices with top players. I would like to have done more. But I'm also trying to manage the physical side as well, which is very important."

Murray, who won the Wimbledon title in 2013 and 2016, added: "I want to go into Wimbledon feeling as fresh and as comfortable as possible when I get out there.

"Getting to play with Roger was really cool for me. They're the sort of things that probably six, seven years ago I wouldn't have given any thought to it. I would have seen that as just being a practice session pre-major with a top player, and focusing on myself.

"I'm probably appreciating those things more. When I take a step back from that, as a tennis fan, getting to play with Roger Federer two days before Wimbledon, it's really great. I haven't had the opportunity to do that sort of stuff much over the last few years. I enjoyed that.

"The way that I've been performing in my practices with top players, I'm not going out there and getting whacked. I'm competing well with all of the players that I practiced with.

"That's the really positive thing for me. That's one of the reasons why I'm sure, if my body holds up, that I can do well, can compete with these guys on the biggest stages."

Among other star names, defending champion Novak Djokovic will face British teenage wildcard Jack Draper in his opening match.

However Simona Halep, the women's winner in 2019, will not feature after withdrawing on Friday.

World No1 Djokovic is halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam after winning the Australian and French Open titles this year, taking his overall tally to 19 majors.

Draper, 19, will be making his Grand Slam main draw debut.

Romanian Halep announced that she would be pulling out of the tournament with a calf injury that prevented her from playing at the French Open.

Serena Williams, who Halep beat to won the title in 2019, will begin her latest quest to claim a record-equalling 24 Grand Slam titles, against Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus.

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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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Date of birth: April 18, 1998

Playing position: Winger

Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda

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We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.

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Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

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Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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