I made lot of Tunisians happy in Dubai, says Jaziri

Dubai - Jaziri became the first Arab player after Younes El Aynaoui to enter the Dubai semifinal

After having enjoyed the most unforgettable run in his career, wildcard Malek Jaziri revealed what was the best part of his semifinal appearance at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
No, it wasn't his stunning win over top seed and world number four Grigor Dimitrov in the opening round.
The 34-year-old player said his first semifinal appearance in a 500 tournament would never come close to the joy of seeing happy Tunisian faces in the stands.
"I'm proud, I won lot of matches. Tunisians, lot of people, I made them happy. I can see that on their faces," Jaziri replied when a reporter asked him about his proudest moment during his dream run in Dubai.
Jaziri may have lost the semifinal on Friday night to Spanish third seed Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets (6-3 6-4), but this was a tournament he would remember for the rest of his life.
Jaziri became the first Arab player after Moroccan legend Moroccan legend Younes El Aynaoui to enter the Dubai semifinal.
El Aynaoui, the former world number 14 and a four-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, finished runner-up in Dubai in 2003.
A win on Friday night would have made Jaziri's week even better, but the Tunisian was happy with what he achieved.
"For me I take a lot of confidence from this week mentally and technically. I gave energy to my team, as well, to work harder for the season, to put good objective to make great season," he said.
"I need to build on all the positive things from this week, to continue the positive energy, positive way to work.
"Hopefully, I will make a good season this year. You know this was my best result in ATP 500. I played good tennis."
There will be now good news waiting for him on Monday when the ATP announces their latest rankings.
Thanks to his amazing run in Dubai, Jaziri will be back in the top 100 in men's rankings, putting him in the main draw at the Grand Slams.
"I know that I will be in the Grand Slam main draw. It will give me more opportunities even in the ATP events in Barcelona and Monte Carlo," he said.
"So it's a good opportunity to get some points. If everything goes well, I will take it the best way I can."
Remarkably, Jaziri's next event will not be the Indian Wells Masters.
The Tunisian says he is going to play in a challenger tournament - the second tier of ATP competitions.
"It's not easy. You have no choice. I didn't expect to play here like this. I was playing every day, fighting every day," he said.
"It was tough at the beginning of the year. I decided to play some challengers, to play more matches, to create more confidence, to feel good on the court.
"I didn't play a lot of matches, so I didn't win a lot of matches at the beginning of the year. I need more matches. I decided with my team to play for more points.
"So we'll go to China. We'll go there to fight," said Jaziri whose fighting spirit in Dubai gave him 180 ranking points, $138,510 prize money and plenty of beautiful memories.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com