Arab tennis players exit Dubai tournament. Tunisian Malek Jaziri and Lebanese Benjamin Hassan were eliminated from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the first round. Jaziri, ranked 141st, lost a close match to Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (ranked 58th) with a score of 6-7, 7-6, 6-7, lasting 2 hours and 36 minutes. Hassan, ranked 286th, was defeated by 2016 Dubai champion Stan Wawrinka (ranked 99th) with a score of 5-7, 3-6. Jaziri praised the tournament's organization and crowd support, stating it made him feel as if he were playing in Tunisia. He added that he gave his all, with the match decided by small details, especially in tiebreaks. Other first-round matches also took place on the opening day.
