ATP rule injury forced Jaziri to miss match against Israeli

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has said they are satisfied that a Tunisian tennis player who retired from a first round match, therefore missing out on facing an Israeli in the next round, was legitimately injured.

Malek Jaziri had won the first set of his match against Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in the first round of the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, though then claimed he was injured which meant he had to retire from the match and not face Dudi Sela in the second round.

Not the first time the player has been caught up in similar controversy, in 2013, Tunisia’s tennis federation ordered him to withdraw from a match against Amir Weintraub, whom he was due to face in the quarter-finals of the ATP Challenger tournament in Tashkent. As a result, the ITF banned Tunisia from the 2014 Davis Cup, saying they were guilty of “interfering with international sporting practice.”

However, an ATP spokesman told the Jewish News: “Following further discussions with Malek Jaziri, as well as consultations with tournament physiotherapists and doctors working on-site at last week’s ATP World Tour event in Montpellier, the ATP is fully satisfied as to the legitimacy of the player’s reasons for retiring from his match due to an elbow injury. Accordingly, this matter is considered closed.”