As the Spaniard celebrated his own La Decima at Roland Garros, Ahmed Rizvi looks at some of the key takeaways from this year's French Open.
Nadal is still the King of Clay
“In 2005, I thought in 2017 I’d be fishing on my boat in Mallorca,” said Rafael Nadal after winning his 10th French Open title, and 15th major, with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 defeat of Stan Wawrinka on Sunday.
“I didn’t really think I’d have such a long career and win so many tournaments,” added the Spaniard, who, when he was 19, was advised to choose an alternate career after a diagnosis showed a congenital disease had deformed his tarsal scaphoid (the bridge of his foot).
Nadal, though, does not look close to being done yet. Certainly not after the way he demolished Wawrinka. Or Dominic Thiem earlier in the semis.
The question is: how many more French Open titles can he win before he eventually decides to go fishing on his boat in Mallorca? The answer might not be such a comforting thought for Roger Federer. The Swiss’ record of 18 grand slam titles looks under renewed threat.
Thiem is heir-in-waiting
Honestly, who can really stop Nadal at Roland Garros? Dominic Thiem, perhaps? Who else?
Among the Generation Next, only Thiem seems to possess the game to challenge Nadal on clay. The Austrian was the only man to beat Nadal in 25 matches on European clay courts this season, but the Spaniard crushed him at Roland Garros, winning the third set of their semi-final 6-0.
Nadal owns those Paris courts, having lost only twice in 81 matches. Thiem just has to be patient. If you could pick Nadal’s heir apparent on clay, it would be Thiem.
Djokovic’s struggles continue
As the tennis world celebrates Nadal's "decima", spare a thought for Novak Djokovic.
Twelve months ago, he was the toast of the tennis world after becoming the first man in nearly half a century to hold all four grand slam titles at the same time. Now, he looks a shadow of his former indomitable self.
“It looks right now as if Djokovic doesn’t want to be on the court,” former world No 1 John McEnroe said.
That might sound harsh, but it seems true. Looks like Djokovic could do with a break. Though injury-enforced, time away from the courts last year did help Federer.
Glass half-full, or ...
Before the start of this year’s French Open, Simona Halep was asked who she thought was favourite to win the women’s title. “About 15 players,” she replied.
She might as well have said 50, for Jelena Ostapenko, the world No 47, eventually won the title, defeating Halep, hitting 54 winners and committing an equal number of unforced errors in the three-set finale.
For Ostapenko, 20, this was her first tour-level title – the last time she lifted a trophy was in 2015 at an ITF 50K Challenger in St Petersburg.
Should we be surprised at her triumph? Probably not. In the absence of Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka as well, it is an open field in women’s tennis.
Ostapenko’s success, then, is either an ode to the WTA Tour’s depth, or an evidence of its unpredictability.
Can Ostapenko avoid a repeat of Muguruza?
Over the past two decades, the French Open has given us more one-slam champions than the other three majors combined: Iva Majoli in 1997, Anastasia Myskina in 2004, Ana Ivanovic in 2008 and Francesca Schiavone in 2010.
So while we celebrate Ostapenko’s triumph, it would be wise not to go overboard. Especially not after the way Garbine Muguruza, the 2016 French Open champion, has struggled over the past 12 months.
Both Muguruza and Ostapenko are young though and have long careers ahead of them. So hopefully, they will not end up on the one-slam wonders list, but there are no guarantees in women’s tennis.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
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.”
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
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
