For every Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, there are hundreds of professional tennis players doing the hard yards on the \u200dlower tours, scratching out a living before calling it a day.<\/p>\n
Tunisia’s Moez Echargui<\/a> fits into that category. This time last year, he was ranked just inside the top 500 and earned $2,160 \u200bfor winning an ITF tournament in Monastir.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n A stunning \u200crun on the ATP Challenger Tour last year has lifted him to 134th in the world and into \u200cthe Australian Open qualifying tournament next week, his first taste of life at a Grand Slam.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “When I arrived at Melbourne Park \u2060to get my accreditation, I was like, ‘Gosh, I’ve made it here,'” Echargui, the highest\u2011ranked African player in the world, \u200ctold Reuters by telephone. “Seeing all the signs with AO everywhere, it was an exciting moment. I felt like \u200ba little kid.”<\/p>\n The difference from the stages on which he usually plies his trade was striking, said the Milan\u2011based player, who holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University \u200dof Nevada.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n It certainly was not an \u200deasy journey to get there.<\/p>\n Injuries curtail rise<\/p>\n Echargui was \u200cclose to a top-100 junior, but a combination of injuries and limited funding led him to focus on his studies before deciding to try his luck in the pro ranks in 2017.<\/p>\n He moved to Milan in 2019 to train at the MXP Academy under coach Paolo Moretti, but a serious wrist injury, \u2060along with knee and hamstring problems, left his career in jeopardy.<\/p>\n His career highlight seemed to arrive in 2024 when he qualified for the Paris Olympics via an International Tennis Federation (ITF) place after winning the African Games, earning a first\u2011round appearance at Roland Garros, where he lost to Britain’s Dan Evans<\/a>.<\/p>\n What looked like a retirement story instead became a turning point. Like a fine wine, Echargui has improved with age and now, in his 30s, has a chance to establish himself on the ATP Tour.<\/p>\n “At 29 years old, I made the decision to go to Milan. I think a lot of people at that age would say, \u2018Maybe I\u2019m at the end of my career,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cWhy go to another country, leave my parents and family?<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think I\u2019ve made a good decision. Tough moments, \u2060but good moments too.\u201d<\/p>\n During a 17-match winning run last summer, Echargui won successive ATP Challenger \u200ctitles in Porto and Hersonissos before another title run in St Tropez.<\/p>\n