Roger Federer will now meet Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.
Roger Federer will now meet Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.

Tennis

Federer battles into semi-finals

Roger Federer celebrated reaching a 22nd consecutive grand slam semi-final but only after being made to work for his US Open victory by Robin Soderling.

Roger Federer celebrated reaching a 22nd consecutive grand slam semi-final but only after being made to work for his US Open victory by the 12th seed Robin Soderling. Soderling won a rare set but Federer continued his unbeaten streak against the Swede to march into a semi-final against fourth seeded Novak Djokovic. Five-time defending champion Federer had taken an 11-0 career record over Soderling going into the night match, their most recent two meetings coming at Wimbledon and in the French Open final. The world No 1 made it a round dozen in victories over the Swede, reaching the last four after extending his unbeaten run at Flushing Meadows to 39 matches, Djokovic having earlier beaten 10th seed Fernando Verdasco.

It was not achieved without a fight, however, Soderling looking down and out after two one-sided sets but then making Federer work for the 6-0 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (8-6) victory in two hours 33 minutes. "This feels great," Federer said. "It was so close towards the end and it's just a great relief to come through because Robin just got better and better as the match went on. "I knew it was going to be tough but the beginning was a bit too easy and all of a sudden he found his way into the match and showed what a great player he really is." Federer could not account for the way the match had shifted away for him having taken a two-set lead in just 59 minutes with some crisp, clean-hitting tennis. "I don't know, I had a really good start, it was cold so I felt at home being from Switzerland but then it got even cooler and him being from Sweden I think that played in his favour," Federer joked.

"I thought it was a great match towards the end. I got off to a flyer but I'm happy I still got through in the fourth." Of stretching his record of consecutive grand slam semi-final appearances, Federer added: "It's not (a record) I aimed for, that's for sure but it's probably one of the greatest records for me in my personal career. "I'm just happy it keeps on going. I'm healthy and I guess that's most important because that's what has allowed me to play well at majors and I'm in for a shot again to defend my title so that's fantastic." Of his forthcoming meeting with Djokovic on Saturday, the third year in a row they have met at Flushing Meadows, Federer said: "We've played each other the last two years, semis last year, finals the year before and we've seen what a great player he is on hard courts.

"I'm sure it's going to be a tough match, I'm looking forward to it." Djokovic had reached his first grand slam final in 2007 before going down in straight sets to Federer, while the pair met in last year's semi-finals in New York, with the Swiss star needing four sets to beat the young pretender. Djokovic was delighted to have reached the US Open semi-finals for the third consecutive year as he moved past the 10th seed Verdasco in four sets, particularly as it is his first grand slam semi of 2009. The fourth seed from Serbia beat his Spanish rival 7-6 (7-2) 1-6 7-5 6-2.

"It feels great," Djokovic said of his achievement. "I haven't done that in the past three grand slams this year, so mentally it was very important for me to overcome today's challenge and to be able to win quarter-finals and to get to the semi-finals for the first time in the grand slams in 2009." Speaking before the Federer-Soderling match, Djokovic spoke about the possibility of facing the world No 1 again on Saturday. "If I play with Roger, we don't need to talk a lot about him: his records in the US Open, we all know his style of the game. "I have been playing against him many, many times and a lot of different kind of surfaces. There are no secrets in each other's game, so it's a matter of having a good day. "I hope I can have a good day and concentrate, and physically I'm going to have enough time to recover and be ready." * PA Sport

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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

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.”

UAE Tour 2020

Stage 1: The Pointe Palm Jumeirah - Dubai Silicon Oasis, 148km
Stage 2: Hatta - Hatta Dam, 168km​​​​​​​
Stage 3: Al Qudra Cycle Track - Jebel Hafeet, 184km​​​​​​​
Stage 4: Zabeel Park - Dubai City Walk, 173km​​​​​​​
Stage 5: Al Ain - Jebel Hafeet, 162km​​​​​​​
Stage 6: Al Ruwais - Al Mirfa, 158km​​​​​​​
Stage 7: Al Maryah Island - Abu Dhabi Breakwater, 127km

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
​​​​​​​Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km

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