By Chris Oddo | Thursday May 3, 2018
Malek Jaziri notched his second top-5 win of the season by defeating top-seeded and defending champion Marin Cilic in Istanbul.
Photo Source: Koza World of Sports
Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri is developing a knack for the shocker in 2018. He upset then World No.4 Grigor Dimitrov in Dubai en route to his first ATP 500 semifinal and on Thursday in Istanbul he toppled top-seeded World No.4 Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-2 to book his spot in the quarterfinals at the Istanbul Open.
Jaziri’s victory sets up a clash with No.7-seeded Jiri Vesely on Friday.
Jaziri broke Cilic five times on 11 opportunities to win for the first time in two lifetime matches with the Croatian.
"I’ve worked really hard to get this win over a Top 5 player,” 34-year-old Jaziri said, according to ATPWorldTour.com. “It wasn’t an easy match as I needed to be focused every point, so to keep my error count down. I feel as if I am improving my tennis and fitness every week.”
The recently married Cilic was playing his first match since he tied the knot over the weekend with longtime fiancé Kristina Milković.
He struggled with a stiff knee as well as some rust from being out since losing in the quarterfinals at Monte-Carlo to Kei Nishikori.
Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano also notched a momentous win on Thursday at Istanbul. The 28-year-old recorded his best ever win by ranking when he knocked off No.2-seeded World No.32 Damir Dzumhur. Fabbiano will face Jeremy Chardy in the quarterfinals.
The quarterfinals shape up as follows: