LONDON: Malek Jaziri believes he struck a blow for tennis in the Arab region when he sensationally knocked Grigor Dimitrov out of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Jaziri was a rank outsider in the round of 32 clash with the tournament’s top seed and it looked a long way back for him when he lost the first set 6-4 on Tuesday, but he rallied superbly and staged a thrilling comeback to win the final two sets 7-5, 6-4. It was his first win over a player in the world’s top 10 and easily the biggest of his career. He picked up $15,910 for the win.
“I was hearing the cheers from a lot of young Arab kids and after I won I saw how happy they all were for me,” he told Sport360. “I hope that this can show them that us Arabs can compete with and defeat the best players in the world, as long we work hard for it.”
Ranked 117 in the world, Jaziri has been given a wildcard for the tournament at The Aviation Club for the past six years and, as a result, usually faces one of the world’s big guns in the opening round. In 2013 he managed to take a set off the great Roger Federer.
“I feel so good here in Dubai,” he said. “They gave me a lot of opportunities in the past, like with wildcards. I got a lot of experience, playing top guys here in Dubai. I played last year against Andy Murray, the year before Novak Djokovic, five years ago I played Roger Federer as well. In Dubai, I only played top seeds. I knew one day it would happen (and I would get the win).”
Jaziri reached a career-high ranking of 47 last year and won gold at the Pan Arab Games in 2011. He reached the quarterfinals in Dubai four years ago but this win over Dimitrov easily tops the lot.
“I just tried to enjoy the match and play my game,” said Jaziri. “This is a fantastic result. It was a great feeling today, first of all, to win my first top five. I am really happy for that. I tried to fight every point since the beginning. It was so tight. All the time I was longer on the court, I was playing better, feeling more comfortable.”
Although the shock exit of Dimitrov robs the championship of its leading light, Tournament Director Salah Tahlak believes the Tunisian was a popular winner.
“Malek Jaziri has long been a favorite here in Dubai and his incredible victory has been well received,” he said in quotes on the tournament website. “His performance was quite remarkable against an opponent who reached the final of his most recent tournament just over a week ago, and it will be very interesting to see how does in his next match.”
Jaziri will not have much time to bask in the glory of his career-high victory. He is back in action on Wednesday when he faces Dutchman Robin Haase in the last match on Center Court.
“I will try to relax a little bit, enjoy dinner with my team, enjoy this win,” Jaziri said. “That’s most important. It’s been a long time I didn’t win lot of matches. This is a good win for me. After that I will start to think about Robin. He is good player, so it will be tough match.”