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By Chris Oddo | Wednesday, February 4th, 2015

 
Malek Jaziri, 2015 Australian Open

Tunisia's Malek Jaziri withdrew from his first-round match against Denis Istomin in Montpellier, drawing suspicion from the ATP.

Photo Source: Getty

Malek Jaziri’s withdrawal after the first set of his first-round match with Denis Istomin at the Open Sud de France has drawn some skepticism, and reportedly the ATP is examining the details.

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Jaziri saw the trainer twice during the first set and then retired due to an elbow injury after winning the set.

The fact that Jaziri would have faced Dudi Sela of Israel was a red flag, because the Tunisian Tennis Federation has already been punishes for ordering Jaziri to withdraw from a match against an Israeli opponent in 2013 at the Tashkent Challenger.

Jaziri’s brother later told reporters that Jaziri, then ranked 215, had been ordered to default the match.

After the incident, Jaziri was cleared of wrongdoing, but the ITF banned Tunisia from Davis Cup for a year, stating that the Federation had interfered with international sporting practice.

According to the Associated Press, the ATP confirmed that Jaziri's latest retirement was due to an elbow injury, but began an examination of the details of the case nonetheless.

"Given a previous incident involving the player's national federation in 2013, we are looking into any wider circumstances of his withdrawal as a matter of prudence," the ATP said in a statement to the AP.

Jaziri was slated to face an Israeli opponent in the quarterfinals of the doubles draw as well, but the elbow injury forced him to pull out.

After a third-round appearance at the Australian Open, the 31-year-old Jaziri is playing at a career-high ranking of No. 65.

 

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