It’s late evening on the second day of the Australian Open qualifiers. The fans who have come for charity matches are petering out towards the trams.
Yet a select few are lured by incessant cries of ‘allez’ stemming from court 12. In the first round of qualifiers, Dutchman Jesper De Jong (ranked 112) – a finalist for The Netherlands in last year’s Davis Cup, is struggling against a relatively unknown 227-ranked Aziz Dougaz from Tunisia.
De Jong holds his serve well in the first set to win in the tiebreak, yet Dougaz dominates the second 6-1, converting 50% of breakpoints.
The third set runs deep into the evening, a three-set match length of almost three hours, where the Tunisian underdog finally prevails with an assertive forehand. Dougaz won 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 7-6 (10-5) to the visible dismay of the Dutchman, setting up an encounter in the second round of qualifying against Benjamin Hassan of Lebanon.
Boasting a commanding left-handed forehand at a height of 188cm, Dougaz survived nine break points to defeat Hassan in three sets – including enduring a pivotal break point in the second set with a winner – after coming back from a 6-3 loss in the first set.
In round 3, Dougaz saved more break points in the tenth game of the first set against former top 100 player Gojo.
The Tunisian was unable to close out the match in straight sets, conceding a break due to an unforced error in the second set, yet he convincingly defeated the Croatian 6-1 in the final set to book his place as the only African in the main draw (or qualifying).
In all three matches, AO’s win predictor only had him as a favourite for roughly a third of the match – in the final set – emanating from his ability to survive break points at crucial periods.
Beginning the tournament with a mere six and a half thousand followers on Instagram, he has recently jumped up to seven thousand through the qualifying rounds, with this number likely to rise if he is able to succeed in round one of the main draw.
At 24 years old and approaching his prime, Dougaz has progressed through the qualifying rounds of Grand Slams before, coming the closest in the 2024 Australian Open.
The Tunisian missed out on a first-round clash with semi-finalist Novak Djokovic (and No.1 seed at the time), losing in the third round of qualifying to teen prodigy Dino Prizmic in straight sets, yet he will now have his first opportunity for the first time in the main draw of a Slam.
Tunisia is not foreign to producing tennis talents, with Ons Jabeur becoming the highest-ranked African female tennis player in history at No.2.
Dougaz is currently the second-highest ranked African tennis player behind the injured Lloyd Harris of South Africa, who repeated the Tunisian’s feat of progressing through qualifying through the main draw in 2024, before he was defeated in four sets by Quentin Halys.
The Tunisian has cited both Jabeur and also recently retired Malek Jaziri as inspirations to pursue a career in tennis, with the latter spending five years in the top 100, as well as being a regular fixture in all four grand slams, most notably progressing to the third round of the Australian Open in 2015.
Seeming inevitable that he will break into the top 200 in 2025, his first-ever qualification for a grand slam could be the catalyst to propel him to a higher ranking.
Whilst simply qualifying is an achievement that could trigger an exponential rise up the ranking and into more Grand Slams, Dougaz now – at 24 years old – finally has the opportunity to prove himself on the big stage.
Having had to forge his own path amongst the abundance of adversity that accompanies playing tennis in a country where financial resources and tournaments are extremely limited, Dougaz hopes that he can continue to persevere to inspire more tennis players in Tunisia and Africa as a whole if he is able to progress further in the tournament.
In what could be the most significant match of his career, Dougaz will face Japanese player Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round on court 5 at a provisional 3:10pm. The Tunisian will boast a height advantage of roughly 18cm over his Japanese opponent, who will counter this using his fast speed and acclaimed ability to be renowned against more powerful players.
If Dougaz can remain accurate with his forehand and first serve, Nishioka could find the Tunisian a far tougher opponent than what his rank in the 200’s suggests.
However, Dougaz will carry the fatigue of playing nine hard-fought sets totalling seven hours before his clash with Nishioka, where the physical battle may prove a significant factor – particularly if the match goes beyond three sets.
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