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Tunisia's Ons Jabeur has been a trailblazer for many women and female athletes across the world. As it turns out, the three-time Grand Slam runner-up and former World No. 2 has also been inspiring the male tennis players in her country, as compatriot Moez Echargui revealed during the ongoing Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger.
Echargui, a 31-year-old from Tunisia, has been mostly competing on the ITF Futures and ATP Challenger circuit. On Monday, he upset third seed Duje Ajdukovic in the first round at the KSLTA Stadium in Bengaluru.
Afterwards, the University of Nevada alumni spoke exclusively to Sportskeeda about how Jabeur's rise to the top of the women's game has left an indelible mark back home and also encouraged him to dream bigger.
"What Ons Jabeur has been doing, it's unbelievable for Tunisian tennis, for African tennis and for Arab tennis. Being a woman and reaching the No. 2 position in the world and making three Grand Slam finals is already unbelievable."
"Because we don't have a big tradition in tennis, we've never felt that someone from such a small country could make it this far. She kept dreaming and with her, I think she's making us also dream of reaching higher goals," he said.
Now using Italy as his training base, Echargui's dreams have taken him across the world. He went to college in the United States, which he believes is a great option for someone who is on the fence about turning pro.
"I spent five years in college in the US from 2011 to 2016. At the age of 16, I wanted to go pro, but I had some injuries, and I stayed away from the court for a long time. So it was best for me to go to the U.S. and do college and the same time play tennis. I did five years of college, and I graduated with a degree of computer science and mechanical engineering."
"It was an unbelievable experience and as you can see now, so many college players are playing on the main tour. So I think it's a good path. Actually, if you're a little bit in between and you don't know whether you want to go pro or not, it's a great option. I really loved it. I went to the University of Nevada and I'm really grateful for that opportunity," he said.
"Playing Davis Cup has such a special effect, playing for your country and moreover, winning against such a great player like Baghdatis" - Moez Echargui
Soon after he went to college, Echargui scored the biggest win of his career, beating former top 10 player and Grand Slam finalist Marcos Baghdatis in the Davis Cup.
"It was actually the biggest win of my career. I just finished college and I think it was in 2017 if I remember well, it was an unbelievable experience. Marcos had an unbelievable career. He has been No 8 in the world. When I played him, I think he was 56 in the world."
"And I just started to play on the tour. I was around 800 or something like that. That match will always stay in my mind because playing Davis Cup has such a special effect, playing for your country and moreover, winning against such a great player like Marcos. It was great memory," Echargui said, recalling that experience.
Like Jabeur, Moez Echargui's journey on the professional tour has been a difficult one, not having the same facilities and opportunities that players from developed countries might take for granted.
"We are a very small country and we are in North Africa. So tennis is not the main sport back home. I think football is the main sport but now it's been couple of years that the country has been seeing a little bit of change and it's been improving."
"I remember when I started playing, there were so many things that I did not have at the time. So it was a little bit difficult. But yes, tennis in Tunisia is improving a lot and now there are many people playing (tennis)," Echargui said.
The Tunisian will be hoping to create some more happy memories when he steps on to the court in Bengaluru on Thursday. A win over Italy's Enrico Dalla Valle would take him into the quarter-finals and move him closer to reahcing a new career-high in the ATP rankings.
