ATP Casablanca
Local wild card Lamine Ouahab continued a fantastical run at his home tournament the ATP Grand Prix Hassan II on Thursday, shocking top seed and world No 24 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in relatively simple fashion.
Ouahab, a 30-year-old veteran who has only once qualified for a grand slam, going out in the first round of the 2009 Australian Open, dismissed Garcia-Lopez in a straightforward 6-3, 6-3 match in Casablanca. Ouahab broke Garcia-Lopez in the fourth game of the first set and broke him three times in the second to run away into the tournament’s quarter-finals.
Ouahab, who reached a career high ranking of 114 in 2009, has never won an ATP title. His has in fact only played in 21 ATP level singles matches, compiling an 11-10 record. The Moroccan was a finalist at the 2002 junior Wimbledon and reacehd at least the quarter-finals of four other junior grand slams in 2001-02.
His senior career has been less than stellar, however, with just three ITF Challenger tour titles to his name. The most recent of those came at the Casablanca clay court tournament in January, which was his first since 2006.
Ouahab will now face world No 95 Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the quarters. By rankings, it will actually be his easiest challenge yet, after already beating world No 88 Robin Haase in the first round.
Gimeno-Traver advanced on Thursday himself when Mikhail Kukushkin retired down 1-6, 1-4.
Jiri Vesely, beating Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets, and Aljaz Bedene, also a straight sets winner over Arthur De Greef, round out Thursday’s other winners.
Second seed Martin Klizan and Nicolas Almagro and Andreas Haider-Maurer and Damir Dzumhur will vie in the other quarter-final matches on Friday.
ATP Houston
Unseeded American Jack Sock toppled second-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP US Clay Court Championships in Houston.
Sock, ranked 46th in the world, notched his second victory over the 15th-ranked Spaniard in less than a month.
He also beat Bautista Agut in the round of 32 in the Indian Wells Masters in March.
Sock, who lifted the doubles title with Vasek Pospisil in Indian Wells and reached the final with the Canadian at Miami last weekend, saved both break points he faced in the 1hr 21 min clash.
He broke the Spaniard once in each set to secure the win and next faces fifth-seeded Colombian Santiago Giraldo who toppled unseeded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.
Tipsarevic, once ranked as high as eighth in the world, is on the comeback trail after missing 17 months in the wake of multiple surgeries on his left foot.
On Tuesday the Serb saved two match points en route to a three-set win over Guilherme Clezar.
Also taking the court Thursday were two former tournament winners, including defending champ Fernando Verdasco who beat South Korean teen Chung Hyeon in straight sets, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.
But John Isner, who won two years ago, failed to advance, losing 2-6, 6-7 (2/7) to Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili.
Verdasco blasted two aces, had just one double fault and broke the 18-year-old Chung twice in the 92-minute match.
He moves on to play Gabashvili in the quarters.
Chung was the sixth teenager to qualify for an ATP tour event in 2015. The world No 118 qualified for his first Masters level main draw in Miami, winning his first-round match before falling to his first top-10 opponent, Czech Tomas Berdych.
WTA Charleston
Defending champion Andrea Petkovic booked her quarter-final berth at the WTA Family Circle Cup in Charleston on Thursday, improving her perfect record in the event with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Madison Brengle.
The third-seeded German improved to 10-0 on the green clay of Charleston, avenging her first-round loss to Brengle at the Australian Open.
Petkovic, ranked 11th in the world, is the highest-seeded player left in the draw after the second-round exit of top-seeded Canadian Eugenie Bouchard and the withdrawal of second-seeded Ekaterina Makarova with a stomach ailment.
Petkovic will next face qualifier Danka Kovinic of Montenegro, who reached the quarters when former champion and sixth seed Jelena Jankovic withdrew from their scheduled third-round match with a right foot injury.
Lauren Davis, who stunned Bouchard in straight sets on Wednesday, moved into the quarter-finals with an abbreviated victory over ailing Mona Barthel.
Davis was leading the 15th-seeded German 6-4, 3-0 when Barthel retired because of dizziness.
Although she hasn’t spent all that much time on court, the 66th ranked Davis said she was finding her feet on Charleston’s clay courts.
“I feel really comfortable on the clay here,” she said. “I feel like I’m sliding well and that my game really suits it well.”
Davis next faces seventh-seeded American Madison Keys. Keys, an Australian Open semi-finalist, defeated Romanian Cristina-Andreea Mitu 6-2, 6-0.
Davis and Keys are familiar foes. With their career head-to-head record tied at two victories apiece.
“We know each other really well,” Davis said. “For about a year and a half we shared the same coach ... I think we know each other’s games like the back of our hands, so it will all come down to who’s more competitive.”
Fourth-seeded Italian Sara Errani reached the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Spain’s 18-year-old Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Errani will face Czech Lucie Hradecka, who toppled French eighth seed Caroline Garcia 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
Fifth-seeded German Angelique Kerber eased past Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena 6-3, 6-0 to line up a quarter-final meeting with Romania Irina-Camelia Begu. Begu advanced by walkover thanks to Makarova’s decision to pull out.
WTA Katowice
Top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska continued an unimpeded march at her home tournament on Thursday, beating An-Sophie Mestach 6-3, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA Katowice Open.
Radwanska in two matches has only dropped eight games at the Poland tournament.
She was joined on Thursday in the quarter-finals by Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Elizaveta Kulichkova, who upset fifth seed Kaia Kanepi and Kirsten Flipkens.
Radwanska will face Klara Koukalova in the last eight on Friday. Second-seeded Alize Cornet matches up with Schmiedlova and third-seeded Camila Giorgi takes on Kulichkova.
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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 biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203S%20Money%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20London%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Zhiznevsky%2C%20Eugene%20Dugaev%20and%20Andrei%20Dikouchine%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%245.6%20million%20raised%20in%20total%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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
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
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
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
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.
SPECS
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Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
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
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
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