Tunis, Tunisia.- Florida State sophomore Aziz Dougaz returns to his home country of Tunisia to lead the national team against top seed Sweden in Group II in front of his home crowd on Friday at the Cité Nationale Sportive El Menzah in Tunis, Tunisia.
“Hosting the Davis Cup is a really big deal- I think the stadium will be packed,” Dougaz said. “There will be the prime minister (Youssef Chahed) there, there will be ministers there. It might be the biggest match of my career so far. I’m stressed, but it’s a good stress. I’m excited to be out on the courts.”
This year marks the 106th edition of the Davis Cup, billed as the World Cup of tennis between national teams in men’s tennis. It is the only other team competition outside of collegiate tennis in the world.
“Besides Davis Cup, collegiate tennis is the only other team competition in the world,”
Dougaz said. “I think it gives me an advantage over those who did not play college tennis. In our match with Mississippi State, I was down to the last match. It was good to have that coming into the Davis Cup. I know how to battle for my teammates and the pressure of playing for your teammates, your school, and your coaches, rather than just for myself.”
This week marks the first round of Davis Cup play in Group II. If the Tunisian national team advances, later rounds will take place April 7-9.
Last July, Dougaz defeated Alexander Lazo 7-6(4), 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 to clinch the victory for Tunisia over Bulgaria in the playoff round of Group II. All matches are best of five sets, as opposed to college tennis, which is best of three.
Noles On Tour:
Recent graduate and 2016 ITA All-American Benjamin Lock returns to the tour at the ITF Futures in Turkey next week. Lock is ranked 514 in the world by the ATP, and is the six seed in the main draw of the tournament.
Five-star 2017 signee Chase Wood fell 6-2, 7-6(4) to Marco Trungelliti in the first round of the Dallas Challenger, an ATP tour event. It was Wood’s fourth consecutive year participating in the Challenger.
Former Seminole standout Anderson Reed will participate in the 2017 Arizona Men’s Pro Circuit Challenger in Tempe, Arizona in the doubles draw. Reed is also set to compete in several Futures events in Canada in the coming weeks, including a $75,000 Challenger in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada on March 11. Reed comes in at 373 in the ATP doubles rankings.
Source: Dougaz to Represent Tunisia in Davis Cup
