A year ago, Djokovic became the first man in nearly a half-century to claim a fourth consecutive major championship and completed a career grand slam at Roland Garros.
But his form has dipped considerably since then, and now he has gone four majors in a row without earning a trophy.
“It’s a fact that I’m not playing close to my best,” Djokovic said. “This is a whole new situation that I’m feeling.”
On Wednesday at a windy Court Suzanne Lenglen, Djokovic was out of sorts in so many ways, even before that 20-minute third set in which he won only eight of 34 points. That was only the second time that Djokovic lost a final set by the score of 6-0 in his 937 career tour-level matches.
“It was not there for me today,” Djokovic said with a sigh.
He wasted two set points in the opener. By the end of the match, he wound up with nearly twice as many unforced errors, 35, as winners, 18. His backhand was particularly problematic.
Known for tremendous footwork and court coverage, the No 2-seeded Serb even stumbled and tumbled to the court, his racket flying out of his hands, early in the second set. Djokovic was left on his knees, and soon he would be out of the tournament entirely.
“All in all,” Djokovic said, “it was decided, I think, in the first set.”
How unlikely was this result?
Djokovic entered the day having won all five previous matches – and 11 of 12 sets – against Thiem, including in the French Open semi-finals a year ago.
“It’s amazing for me,” Thiem said. “To beat him for the first time in the quarters of the French Open is a dream.”
Plus, Djokovic had appeared in a record six consecutive semi-finals in Paris. But this continued what has become something of a 12-month downward slide for him since he finally grabbed hold of the French Open championship he had so long sought.
Since then, the highlight for Djokovic was a runner-up finish at the US Open. Otherwise, he lost his No 1-ranking to Andy Murray and lost in the third round of Wimbledon, the first round of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the second round of the Australian Open.
Along the way, he split with his coaches – first Boris Becker then Marian Vajda, along with other members of his entourage.
Djokovic enlisted Andre Agassi for coaching help during Week 1 of the French Open, but Agassi had some prior commitments and so was gone by the time Djokovic faced Thiem.
Thiem, 23, will face nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal next.
“You have to play the best guys round after round,” Thiem said.
“It’s not getting easier on Friday.”
The other men’s quarter-finals scheduled for later on Wednesday: 2016 runner-up Murray against No 8 Kei Nishikori, and 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka against No 7 Marin Cilic.
Thiem is a talented, up-and-coming player, to be sure, and he is the only man to beat Nadal in the Spaniard’s 23 matches on clay in 2017. That came in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open last month.
Earlier Wednesday, Nadal reached his record 10th French Open semi-final when No 20 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain retired from their match early in the second set because of an injured abdominal muscle he said began bothering him on a serve at 5-2 in the first.
Nadal led 6-2, 2-0 when Carreno Busta stopped.
Nadal has dropped only 22 games so far in the tournament, the fewest he has lost on the way to any of his 26 major semi-final berths.
“I don’t know how many games I lost this year, but I really don’t care about this, no?” Nadal said. “I only care that I am in the semi-finals.”
World No 1 Andy Murray advanced to his fifth French Open semi-final by defeating Japanese eighth seed Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-1.
Murray, who was runner-up to Djokovic at Roland Garros last year, will meet 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka for a spot in Sunday’s final.
Nishikori outdueled Murray in a five-set classic at last year’s US Open and looked capable of a repeat success as he rolled through the opening set.
But Murray responded by taking the second set with ease and stormed through a third-set tie-break before finishing off a tiring Nishikori to seal a fourth successive semi-final appearance in Paris.
“I needed to start putting more pace on my shots, he was dictating all the points in the first set. It was windy, so the timing was difficult, but once I was able to get into a rhythm and keep him away from the baseline, that made the difference,” Murray said.
Wawrinka became the oldest French Open semi-finalist in 32 years when he brushed aside Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
Swiss third seed Wawrinka, the 2015 title winner, has not lost a set on his way to a third successive semi-final in Paris.
The 32-year-old is the oldest man to make the last four at Roland Garros since Jimmy Connors in 1985.
“It was perfect today, I’m very satisfied,” said Wawrinka, who will be playing in his third successive Roland Garros semi-final.
“I played well, was very solid and took my opportunities.”
On the women’s side, Simona Halep saved a match point and fought back from a set and 5-1 down to defeat Elina Svitolina 3-6, 7-6, 6-0 to reach her second French Open semi-final.
The third-seeded Romanian, who was runner-up to Maria Sharapova in Paris in 2014, will face Karolina Pliskova, the Czech second seed, for a place in Saturday’s final.
Both women also have a chance of taking the world number one spot.
“I don’t know how I came back,” admitted 25-year-old Halep, who ran away with 12 of the last 13 games to avenge her loss to Svitolina in the Rome final.
Fifth seed Svitolina had looked well-set to become the first Ukrainian woman to make a grand slam semi-final.
She allowed Halep just four winners in the first set and coasted into a 5-1 lead in the second.
Twice she served for victory at 5-2 and 5-4 before going on to waste a match point at 6/5 in the tie-breaker.
Halep needed no second invitation, sprinting through the final set in just 20 minutes before taking victory with an ace.
Svitolina, who had been two points from defeat in the fourth round against Petra Martic, finished the quarter-final with 45 unforced errors.
“She was playing tough, hard and strong,” Halep said.
“Maybe I was a little lucky but I didn’t give up.”
Czech second seed Pliskova reached the semi-finals for the first time with a 7-6, 6-4 win over home hope Caroline Garcia.
The Czech edged a marathon 77-minute first set against 28th seed Garcia in a tie-break, having failed to convert an earlier set point at 5-3.
The 25-year-old then broke Garcia as the Frenchwoman served to stay in the match to clinch just her second semi-final appearance at a grand slam.
“It was very tough. She played very well, we were both serving well. She played a great tournament, even today, it was 50-50, it came down to about two points I’m really glad I made it,” Pliskova said.
She entered this year’s Roland Garros with just two wins in five previous visits.
“I am very happy. Before the tournament I wasn’t sure if I could play good tennis on clay.”
Pliskova, 25, will replace Angelique Kerber as the new women’s world No 1 if she makes the final in Paris.
* Agencies
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'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
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
Team Angel Wolf Beach Blast takes place every Wednesday between 4:30pm and 5:30pm
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Fixtures (6pm UAE unless stated)
Saturday Bournemouth v Leicester City, Chelsea v Manchester City (8.30pm), Huddersfield v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm), Manchester United v Crystal Palace, Stoke City v Southampton, West Bromwich Albion v Watford, West Ham United v Swansea City
Sunday Arsenal v Brighton (3pm), Everton v Burnley (5.15pm), Newcastle United v Liverpool (6.30pm)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology
Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels
Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs
Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends
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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