While Wednesday was a day of shocks at Wimbledon, with Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic exiting the men's competition, the manner of their departures was somewhat anticlimactic.
It is the first time since 2003 that neither of the top two seeds are part of Friday’s semi-finals, but the tennis world is preparing itself for the fact they may have to do without Murray and Djokovic for longer than just the closing stages in London.
A hip problem, which Murray had been dealing with in the build-up to his title defence, reared its head against Sam Querrey, and from being two sets down the Briton’s movement across the court became almost painful to watch as Querrey ran through the final two sets for the loss of only two games to reach his first grand slam semi-final.
A despondent Murray was open-minded on what his plans were following the loss, understandably reluctant to give a time frame on what was next for him in term of playing.
“If it means taking a few weeks’ rest, then so be it,” he said. “If it means training and doing the right rehab and stuff, then I’ll do that,” he said in his post-match news conference.
Shortly after Murray’s loss, Djokovic retired from his quarter-final, trailing Tomas Berdych 7-6, 2-0, an injury to his right elbow limiting the power of his serve.
READ MORE: Novak Djokovic some way short of his best
The Serbian, who has not missed a major since appearing in his first one at the Australian Open in 2005, a run of 51 tournaments, made it clear that a spell away from the game to fully rehabilitate was in his mind.
“The specialists that I’ve talked with, they haven’t been really too clear, mentioning also surgery, mentioning different options. Nobody was very clear in what needs to be done,” the world No 4 said. “Yeah, I guess the break is something that I will have to consider right now.”
They may well be injury-forced time-outs, but time away from the court may well not be a bad thing for either.
Both men had gruelling 2016 schedules, Djokovic toiling to complete his career grand slam at the French Open, while Murray won five tournaments in a row between October and November, coming after he had won Wimbledon and Olympic gold in the summer.
That run got him to No 1 in the world, but his season ended on November 20, and he was back playing competitive tennis only six weeks later.
Both men have been pale shadows of the ones that dominated men’s tennis in 2016, and given neither was playing particularly well even before their bodies began to break down, it would be easy to worry about their long-term standing in the sport.
But, if they need inspiration they only need to look at Roger Federer, the favourite now to win Wimbledon for an eighth time.
Twelve months ago Federer fell short in the semi-finals to Milos Raonic, and that was his last action of 2016 as he downed tools for the rest of the year to fully recover from knee surgery, acknowledging at the time he had not been physically right.
Federer came back in January revitalised, won his first grand slam in four-and-a-half years at the Australian Open in January, and has won a further three tournaments. He is yet to drop a set at Wimbledon ahead of Friday’s semi-final with Berdych.
Despite being the most successful player in the history of the men’s game, there had been little in Federer’s play between 2013-16 that screamed he was capable of winning multiple grand slams in the same year again.
He had last done that in 2009, yet here he is just two matches away from picking up his second major of the year.
Rafael Nadal is also a case in point that taking a break does not have to be the end.
He finished an injury-hit 2016 season in October to fully rehabilitate from a wrist injury. Since then he has won a 10th French Open title last month, reached the Australian Open final, won three other titles, and reached two more finals. So no need to panic that time spent away from the game cannot have future benefits for Murray and Djokovic.
It may be a setback in the short term if both men were forced to miss the US Open, but if it means they can follow in the footsteps of Federer and Nadal and win grand slams further down the line then it will be worth it.
Yes, both men may lose ranking points and places in the standings in the meantime, but if you are playing well enough it does not matter where you are ranked.
Federer won the Australian Open seeded 17th, beating four top 10 players on his way to his 18th major.
Murray and Djokovic both face an anxious next couple of weeks, finding out just how bad their injuries are. But the rewards are there if they allow nature to take its course and rest up.
Federer and Nadal will testify to that.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
F1 drivers' standings
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 281
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 222
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 177
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 138
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 93
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 86
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 56
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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RESULT
Aston Villa 1
Samatta (41')
Manchester City 2
Aguero (20')
Rodri (30')
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
more from Janine di Giovanni
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.”
