After years in the wilderness, Tunisia's Echargui eyes Grand Slam chance in Australia

LONDON, Jan 10 : ‌For every Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, there are hundreds of professional tennis players doing the hard yards on the lower tours, scratching out a living before calling it a day.

Tunisia's Moez Echargui fits into that category. This time last year he was ranked just inside the top 500 and earned $2,160 for winning an ITF tournament in Monastir.

Now Echargui stands on the cusp of a career breakthrough - at an age when many journeymen are thinking about what to do once they have hung up their rackets.

A stunning run on the ATP Challenger Tour last year has lifted him to 134th in the world and into the Australian Open qualifying tournament next week, ‌his first taste of life at a Grand Slam.

There remains the task of winning three matches ‌in Melbourne to reach the main draw, but for Echargui, just being in qualifying is a reward for persevering when others might have stopped chasing the dream.

"When I arrived at Melbourne Park to get my accreditation, I was like, 'Gosh, I've made it here,'" Echargui, the highest‑ranked African player in the world, told Reuters by telephone. "Seeing all the signs with AO everywhere, it was an exciting moment. I felt like a little kid."

The difference from the stages on which he usually plies his trade was striking, said the Milan‑based player, who holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Nevada.

"Everything's made easy ‍for the players. The food is free, the laundry, the transport. There are staff available to help. It actually feels easy to be here."

It certainly was not an easy journey to get there.

INJURY PROBLEMS

Echargui was close to a top-100 junior, but a combination of injuries and limited funding led him to focus on his studies before deciding to