Dubai, Feb 27 (IANS): Tunisia's Malek Jaziri went down in a fight against second-seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland in three sets in the Dubai International Championship.
The Tunisian, ranked 128th in the world and who benefited from a wild card to play in the event, lost 7-5, 0-6, 2-6, reports Xinhua.
Jaziri won the first set with typical North African panache by putting the Swiss champion in difficulty but later succumbed to Federer's mixture of clockwork precision and power thrusts.
The Swiss, who scored 10 aces, will play against Marcel Granollers or Albert Montanes in the next round.
It is the first time the Tunisian played against Federer, who is chasing his sixth consecutive title here.
The Tunisian No.1 suffered a knee injury that kept him off the pitch throughout most of last year. He said he did his best and that he gave all he had.