PARIS // Rafael Nadal won an epic semi-final against Novak Djokovic at the French Open to remain the undisputed king of clay - for another couple of days, at least.
The seven-time Roland Garros champion twice let a lead slip away in the fourth set, then came from behind in the fifth set to beat the world's No 1-ranked player 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7.
Djokovic blew an easy overhead on the opening point on the final game and went on to lose serve at love, sending his final forehand long.
Nadal improved to 58-1 at Roland Garros, including five wins over Djokovic. The French Open remains the only major title Djokovic has yet to win.
Nadal is trying to become the first man to win eight titles at the same grand slam event.
He will play fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the final.
"It's a very special win for me and congratulations to Novak," Nadal said. "He's a great champion and he is going to win here at Garros one day."
Nadal leads the series between the players, 20-15. However, he had lost the pair's only other five-setter, the record-setting 2012 Australian Open final.
"When I was serving for the match it was against the wind so I knew that it would be a tough game. It was a similar match to the one in Australia and he won. This time it is me that won and that is what makes sport so big."
Nadal will be appearing in his ninth final since returning from a seven-month injury lay-off.
"During these seven months out of the game there were some low moments, but everybody supported me and there was a lot of positive energy."
In the fourth set Nadal twice was a break up, and twice found himself two points from victory, but Djokovic summoned his best tennis of the day and won 10 of the final 13 points in the set to even the match.
Nadal double-faulted in the first game of the final set, and Djokovic broke to take the lead. But there were more plot twists to come.
Serving at 4-3 in the fifth set, at deuce, Djokovic came forward to put away a winner, but his momentum carried him into the net and Nadal was awarded the point.
Three points later Djokovic drove a forehand into the net to lose the game and even the score again.
As the tension built, Nadal pulled off the shot of the day - and perhaps the tournament - in the 14th game of the set. Retreating for a lob, he flicked the ball between his legs with his back to the net.
That left Djokovic with an easy overhead, but he dumped it into the net, and the crowd roared at the improbable sequence.
The mistake did not cost Djokovic, who won the game on the next point for 7-7. But the next blown overhead did, and it appeared to rattle him as he lost the next three points and the match.
The last shot came 4 hours, 37 minutes after the first.
A triumphant Nadal grinned, threw an uppercut and answered the fans' roar with applause for them.
Then he gestured graciously toward the defeated Djokovic.
Afterward, the Serb said: "I gave my best. I really did. I really tried to come back. The third set wasn't great at all. I just dropped physically. He used it. I managed to come back and start playing really, really well as the match was going on, but it wasn't good enough."
In the second semi, Ferrer breezed past home favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to set up an all-Spanish men's final.
Tsonga had high hopes of reaching the final as he powered his way through the draw in Paris, including defeating Roger Federer in straight sets on his way to the semi-finals.
However, the Frenchman found No 4 seed Ferrer much too powerful and he went down without much of a fight in straight sets 6-1, 7-6, 6-2.
It was all one-way traffic in the first set as Ferrer rapidly opened up a 5-0 lead, breaking Tsonga twice, before his opponent got on the board.
And the crowd was almost silent when he wrapped up the opener two games later.
The second was a much tighter affair as Tsonga started to find his rhythm. He broke for a 3-0 lead but was pegged back to 3-3 shortly afterwards.
The pair then traded breaks as Tsonga and the partisan crowd became more vocal, but Ferrer ran away with the tie-break 7-3 to gain a two-set lead.
Ferrer looked to be nearly home and dry when he opened up a 4-1 lead in the third before Tsonga put up a final show of resistance.
But it was too little too late as the damage had already been done and Ferrer cantered to victory and a place in his first grand slam final.
Ferrer dominated but Tsonga was given a standing ovation as he left the court.
A similar reception was in store for Ferrer when he followed him off a few minutes later. Now a bigger stage awaits tomorrow.
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
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
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Company%20profile
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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.”
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
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In%20the%20Land%20of%20Saints%20and%20Sinners
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
