ATP investigates Tunisian who withdrew before match against Israeli

06 February 2015 - 11:19 By Sapa-dpa
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Tunisia's Malek Jaziri waves to the crowd after defeat in his men's singles match against Australia's Nick Kyrgios on day five of the 2015 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 23, 2015.
Tunisia's Malek Jaziri waves to the crowd after defeat in his men's singles match against Australia's Nick Kyrgios on day five of the 2015 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 23, 2015.
Image: AFP PHOTO / GREG WOOD

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) was investigating Thursday whether Tunisian player Malek Jaziri faked an injury to avoid playing against an Israeli in the Montpellier tennis tournament.

"Malek Jaziri retired from his first round singles match on Wednesday in Montpellier due to an elbow injury, as verified by the ATP physiotherapist on-site. Mr. Jaziri also withdrew from his second round doubles match," the ATP told dpa.

"However, given a previous incident involving the player's national federation in 2013, we are looking into the wider circumstances of his withdrawal as a matter of prudence," the statement said.

Jaziri, ranked 65, won the first set 6-3 against Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin on Wednesday.

If he had won that match, he would have been up against Israel's Dudi Sela, who beat Estonia's Jurgen Zopp 6-3 and 6-4 in his opener.

Jaziri, however, withdrew due to injury from his match against Istomin.

In October 2013, following orders from the Tunisian federation, Jaziri refused to play Israel's Amir Weintraub in the quarter-finals of the Tashkent challenger.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) then proceeded to ban Tunisia from the Davis Cup for one year.

"There is no room for prejudice of any kind in sport or in society," ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said at the time.

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