The Parisian dream of Aziz Dougaz quickly flew. The Tunisian tennis player, ranked 222nd in the world, was eliminated Tuesday in the first round of the qualifying of Roland-Garros, the second lifting of the Grand Chelem, after a tight defeat in three sets against Kazakh Dmitry Popko (164th): 6-7, 6-3, 6-7.
Despite a good fighting spirit, Dougaz failed to overthrow the trend in key moments of the match. He bowed after a highly disputed duel, marked by two tie-breaks won by his opponent, more solid in the decisive phases.
This premature elimination ends the Tunisian player’s hopes to find the main draw of a Grand Slam for the second time this year. Last January, Dougaz managed to cross the qualifications of the Australian Open, achieving a remarkable performance that marked an important step in its progress.
Despite the disappointment, this experience in Paris remains one more stage in the journey of the 27 -year -old, which continues to aim for a more stable place in the world top 200. He should now turn to the next Challenger tournaments to try to regain points and relaunch his season on clay.
