David Ferrer is ranked third in the world, has reached at least the quarter-finals at all four grand slams in the past two years yet is still not a favourite for the Australian Open title at Melbourne Park.
Not that the 31-year-old Spaniard minds. He puts enough pressure upon himself just to go out and perform.
“I don’t know,” Ferrer told reporters when asked if he thought he could repeat last year’s performance of making the semi-finals at Melbourne Park.
“I will have to play against (Adrian) Mannarino, and it’s gonna be difficult match,” he added of his second round opponent after he dispatched Colombia’s Alejandro Gonzalez 6-3 6-4 6-4 in just over two hours on Rod Laver Arena on Monday.
“He’s a lefty. He plays very flat with his shots. I am only focused (on Wednesday).”
Ferrer used his semi-final loss at Melbourne Park last year to catapult himself to an impressive season that ended with two titles, his first grand slam final at Roland Garros and finishing the year at number three in the world.
Critics have suggested the poor year of Swiss maestro Roger Federer and lingering injuries to Wimbledon champion Andy Murray that necessitated back surgery have artificially boosted Ferrer’s ranking points.
The battling right hander, whose greatest assets are his scrambling ability and fitness, however, said he was unconcerned about the talk about his ranking. Wednesday’s match against the Frenchman was what counted.
“No, no, my pressure is for my next match against Mannarino,” he added. “I don’t care about this, I am number three of the world or number two or number five.
“I know I have to improve my game, and I will try do my best to improve my game.”
On Monday, Ferrer shook off the disappointment of a semi-final loss at last week’s Auckland Open, a title he had defended for the previous three years, to quietly account for Gonzalez.
The 24 year old from Medellin did provide some concern for Ferrer taking a 4-2 lead in the second set only for unforced errors to creep back into his game.
The world No 74, playing his first grand slam main draw match, looked to be flagging in the warm temperatures in the third set and Ferrer, considered one of the fittest men on the ATP Tour, was not going to let him off the hook easily.
“The conditions, well, it was very hot, sure,” Ferrer said.
“It was important (to) win the matches in three sets.
“It was a close match. In the second and the third (sets) I was a few times break down, but in important moments I played better than him.
“Today maybe I didn’t play my best tennis, but I won.
“That’s important.”
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
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
