If anyone knows how Novak Djokovic feels after sweating and scrapping for almost five hours in the Australian Open semi-finals, it is his opponent on Sunday, Rafael Nadal.
A day after Nadal beat Roger Federer in four compelling sets, Djokovic dug deep to overcome Andy Murray 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-1, 7-5 on Friday night in a match that stretched over four hours, 50 minutes.
Djokovic, the defending champion, will face Nadal in a third straight grand slam final on Sunday. It is a reversal from three years ago, when Nadal had to regroup after his own gruelling semi-final.
The Spaniard needed 5:14 in 2009 to get past compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the longest men's singles match in the tournament's history.
He was so exhausted, he did not lift a racket the following day. Yet when the final rolled round, he beat Federer – who had an extra day to rest – in five sets that reduced the usually composed Swiss player to tears.
Now a weary Djokovic has had less than 48 hours to prepare to face Nadal, one of the fittest players in the game.
"I know that I maybe have a mental edge because I've won six finals … we played in 2011 and I've had lots of success against him," Djokovic said. "That's going to be my main priority and concern … to physically be able to perform my best and be ready to play five sets."
Nadal said after a two-hour training session yesterday that he did not feel he had an advantage going into the final, reminding everyone about Federer's extra day of rest three years ago.
"Well, that's what it is," Nadal said. "In 2009 I played longer than [Federer] in the semi-finals. I was recovered for the final, so I think you can say it's unfair, yes, but not crazy unfair.
"Really unfair is the US Open when you don't have a day off between semi-finals and final. Having one day off, I believe you are not in big trouble."
Djokovic won 10 titles in 2011, six of them by beating Nadal in finals. Just as Nadal has the mental edge over Federer, Djokovic has developed a hold over Nadal.
But the No 1-ranked Djokovic at times has seemed vulnerable at Melbourne Park this year. Against David Ferrer in the quarter-finals, he struggled to breathe through most of a straight-sets win and at one point seemed to have severe pain in his leg.
Against Murray, he looked completely spent again when he hobbled to his chair after losing a third-set tiebreak to go down 2-1.
"He's done it many times before," Murray said. "He runs very well even when he's breathing heavy. I was ready for that. He was similar in the last match. But he moved fine."
Yesterday, Nadal said "it was difficult to imagine" that Djokovic suffered from breathing problems because he appeared to be so strong in the latter stages of Friday's match. Murray pushed Djokovic to the limit, and the Serb said it was one of the most memorable successes of his career.
"Definitely one of the best under the circumstances," he said. "Time wise, I think this was one of the longest, if not the longest, that I've played in the later stages of a grand slam. As a tennis player, you practise hard every single day knowing that you will get an opportunity to be part of such a great match and on such a high level."
Djokovic will bid for his fifth major title today, with the chance to become only the fifth man since the Open Era began in 1968 to win three straight major titles, after winning Wimbledon and the US Open last year.
If he can achieve that, Djokovic would make the 10-time slam winner Nadal the first man in the Open Era to lose three successive major finals.
Just like Nadal three years ago, Djokovic does not plan on doing much before the final.
"I think I had enough time spent on the court. Now it's all about recovery," said Djokovic, who has won 19 consecutive grand slam matches. After a year in which almost everything went his way and he overtook Nadal and Federer to become the world No 1, Djokovic is finding out what it feels like to be the hunted rather than the hunter.
"I'm aware now that everyone wants to win the major title, get that No 1 spot, he said.
"It's normal. It's something I'm prepared for."
Meanwhile, Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek denied the Bryan brothers a record 12th men’s grand slam doubles title on Saturday as they beat the American top seeds in straight sets in the Australian Open final.
The 7-6, 6-2 victory was the first for India’s Paes over the American twins Bob and Mike Bryan in a final after five defeats in title matches, and means he completes a career grand slam of doubles titles.
Coming into the Australian Open, Paes had won 47 career titles with 11 partners, including one with Stepanek, the Czech who now claims his first grand slam doubles title.
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
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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
