Local wildcards cause a splash in Marrakech

Apr 12, 2017
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Local wildcards cause a splash in Marrakech

Two Moroccans shocked Top-100 opponents.

Published Apr 12, 2017

Tournament directors give out wildcards to allow players who would not otherwise make it into a draw an opportunity to compete. Two home favorites at the ATP 250 in Marrakech have taken full advantage of their chances.

Moroccans Reda el Amrani and Amine Ahouda, who hadn’t faced a Top 100 opponent in the last year, scored victories over world No. 51-ranked Federico Delbonis and world No. 45-ranked Marcel Granollers, respectively.

El Amrani, a 28-year-old ranked No. 667, had only played eight professional tournaments since 2013. While he was once ranked as high as No. 160 in the world, El Amrani lost in straight sets with his wildcard in Marrakech last year.

This time around, he advanced to the second round when Delbonis retired while down a set.

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Ahouda, another Moroccan wildcard, does not have anywhere near the same experience as El Amrani, who has played in the qualifying draw of all four Grand Slams. The 19-year-old ranked No. 946 had only competed against three Top 200 opponents during his young career, failing to win a set.

But he had few problems dispatching Granollers, 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday for his first-ever Top-100 win. No matter what happens next (he takes on world No. 59 Jan-Lennard Struff, while El Amrani faces Borna Coric), these two Moroccans have done their country proud.