After years in the wilderness, Tunisias Echargui eyes Grand Slam chance in Australia

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Paris 2024 Olympics - Tennis - Mens Singles First Round - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - July 28, 2024. Moez Echargui of Tunisia during his first round match against Daniel Evans of Britain. REUTERS/Edgar Su

LONDON, Jan 10 - For every Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, there are hundreds of professional tennis players doing the hard yards on the lower tours, scratching out a living before calling it a day.

Tunisias Moez Echargui fits into that category. This time last year he was ranked just inside the top 500 and earned $2,160 for winning an ITF tournament in Monastir.

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.

A stunning run on the ATP Challenger Tour last year has lifted him to 134th in the world and into the Australian Open qualifying tournament next week, his first taste of life at a Grand Slam.

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.

When I arrived at Melbourne Park to get my accreditation, I was like, Gosh, Ive made it here, Echargui, the highest‑ranked African player in the world, told Reuters by telephone. Seeing all the signs with AO everywhere, it was