Africa › Tunisia 18.09.2016

No boycott as Tunisia's Jaziri defeats Israel's Sela for Istanbul title

By AFP

In 2013, Tunisia's Malek Jaziri was ordered by the Tunisia tennis federation to withdraw from a tournament in Tashkent rather than face Israel's Amir Weintraub, his scheduled opponent. By Luis Acosta (AFP/File)

Istanbul (AFP) - Tunisia's Malek Jaziri on Sunday beat Israel's Dudi Sela 1-6, 6-1, 6-0 to win the Istanbul ATP Challenger title in a match charged with political significance.

In 2013, Jaziri was ordered by the Tunisia tennis federation to withdraw from a tournament in Tashkent rather than face Israel's Amir Weintraub, his scheduled opponent.

In response, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) banned Tunisia from the Davis Cup.

Despite fears that the Tunisian authorities may again intervene on Sunday, the final between the top two seeds went ahead.

32-year-old Jaziri lost the first set 6-1, but went on to win the second before sweeping through the decider as he claimed the sixth Challenger title of his career.