Malek Jaziri survived a titanic battle on Court 2 on Tuesday, saving five match points before edging past Dutch world No53 Igor Sijsling 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) to make the second round of an ATP tournament for the first time since October 2012.
It was Jaziri’s fourth final-set tiebreak victory of the month and it seemed the experience from these matches – in Texas and Mexico –have helped him produce some clutch moves at crucial moments.
“In the United States I was playing Rhyne Williams and I saved four match points and won 6 2 in the tiebreak. So it’s good for confidence,” said Jaziri after the win. “Here it’s a bigger tournament, you have more points and more chances to improve the ranking. So I’m very happy to do that.”
After getting blown away in the opening set by Sijsling, Jaziri recovered and broke in the first game of the second set and held serve for 2-0. He had to save two break points in the fourth game, thanks to an emphatic cross court backhand passing shot which helped him hold for 3-1.
And the Tunisian maintained his lead and served out the set to love to level the match and force a decider.
Sijsling drew first blood in the final set, breaking for a 3-1 lead, but things turned around for the Dutchman when he was serving for the match at 5-4.
He double-faulted to give Jaziri two break points and even though he saved both of them, the Arab No1 broke on his third chance of the game, bringing in Sijsling to the net and drawing the volley error out of him.
A marathon 12th game saw Jaziri save five match points before he finally held with a huge down the line forehand passing shot. Nerves and fatigue seemed to catch up with Sijsling, and Jaziri took the match on his first chance, hitting a brilliant passing shot after one hour and 51 minutes of grueling tennis.
“I think tactically in the end I was playing better,” said Jaziri, who had lost his only previous meeting to Sijsling, in a Challenger final two years ago.
“I made great shots in the important points, like in the tiebreak in the 4-3, I passed him with a backhand crosscourt, so it was good points on good moments.”
A month ago, Jaziri hired Serbian coach Dejan Petrovic. The Tunisian is optimistic about the new partnership.
“He isn’t with me here this week, but we talked before my match, and that helps,” said Jaziri. “He believes in my objectives, believes in me and I hope things go well. I’ll meet him next week at Indian Wells, I’m playing qualifying there.”
It was a good day for wildcards, with all three recipients, Jaziri, his next opponent Somdev Devvarman, and Great Britain’s James Ward all advancing.
