Dubai: Former Tunisian Davis Cup player Essam Jalali is rejoining the ATP Men's Tour after a two-year absence.
Jalali, who has spent the past two seasons in various coaching assignments in the UAE, decided to rejoin the Tour after he found a sponsor to back him.
"I am feeling so excited about going back on the Tour. I have a sponsor who will back me for the next two years and that is very satisfying," Jalali told Gulf News.
Jalali went down in straight sets to the UAE's Omar Behroozian in the men's final of the 12th Falak Holding Ramadan Tennis Cup.
"This is possibly my worst match for a long, long time. And Omar played way above his level," Jalali stated.
Jalali has started practising at Al Wasl Club and should be starting with his first tournament at the end of this month with a Futures event and a Challenger Series in Tunisia.
Very supportive
"Omar Abbas and Jean Francois Danican and the entire team of Al Wasl Club have been very supportive and I really appreciate their backing," Essam admitted.
After the Tunisian competitions will be a couple of Futures each in Iran and Sudan. "That should take me till the end of the year, after which I intend going to train with my brother in Toronto," Jalali said.
Jalali comes from a tennis family. His older brothers, Aref and Walid, have both played Davis Cup for Tunisia. Aref is now a coach in Canada, while Walid is still active on the men's Tour with an ATP raking of around 460.
Essam was the youngest player for Tunisia at 16. "That was way back in 1997 and I went on to represent my country till 2004," Essam stated.
Eventually, an injury put him out of circulation and alleged sponsorship tussles with the Tunisian Tennis Federation soured things even more. "So I thought the best thing to do was to come to the UAE and go on with my life," Essam said.
"Dubai has been like a second home to me, so I will use this as my base while I am on Tour," the 25-year-old Essam said.
