Mohamed Safwat is hoping he can inspire the next generation of tennis players from Egypt to follow in his footsteps and believe in their chances of making it in the sport.
The 29-year-old from Mansoura made history on Saturday by becoming the first Egyptian since Ismail El Shafei in 1978 to feature in the Australian Open main draw after he won his final qualifying round against Russian world No 106 Evgeny Donskoy at Melbourne Park.
Blasting through three qualifying matches without dropping a set, Safwat secured a place in a grand slam main draw for just the second time in his career, and the first without needing a lucky loser spot.
"I can't even describe how happy I was after the match; especially that I beat good players along the way," Safwat told The National on Saturday after his 7-5, 6-4 success over Donskoy, who famously upset Roger Federer in Dubai three years ago.
“It means a lot for me and I think it will give me a good push mentally, that I can believe I can play at this level consistently; that I have the level to compete in the top 100. I think it will give me a boost along this year.”
Ranked world No 172 this week, Safwat has spent more than a decade grinding on the lower tiers of tennis, leading Egypt’s Davis Cup team and competing on the professional tour with little to no support.
A couple of years ago, he decided to invest more in himself, traveling full-time with his Austrian coach Gilbert Schaller – a former world No 17 – and occasionally with his psychologist Hend Eissa, to give himself maximum opportunities to achieve his goals. He relocated to Austria, to train there regularly, and thrust himself into the gruelling life of the Challenger Tour, where has reached three finals so far.
The only Egyptian to ever rank in the top-100 was El Shafei in the 1970s, and Safwat is hoping he can finally hit that milestone this season.
“I took a different path than the generation before me, I committed to what I do, I didn’t give up on my dreams, I had a rough time throughout the years, ups and downs, and frustration and sadness but thankfully I was always surrounded by the right people,” Safwat said.
“What I’m doing now will be good for kids back home and should motivate them that they can do it, with the right knowledge and the right people around you, you really can achieve it.”
Safwat is no stranger to making history for his nation. Last August, he achieved a lifelong dream when he won gold at the African Games to become the first Egyptian man to qualify for the Olympic Games in tennis.
“Qualifying for the Olympics was one of the things that gave me a big boost last year. Winning the African Games gave me a lot of confidence, it unlocked something in me and it was a turning point in my career,” he said.
“I will try to prepare well before the Olympics this year. I’m trying to compete in the big tournaments in preparation for Tokyo 2020, because I need to play at a higher level when I get there, I’m ready. I don’t want to go to just show up. No pressure obviously but you prepare well for it and whatever comes is good.”
Safwat feels the biggest progress he has made recently was getting mentally stronger, and he was most pleased with how stable his level was throughout his Australian Open qualifying campaign.
He credits his unusual off-season for that. While his initial plan was to spend several weeks in Cairo training for the new year, an infected blister in his toe caused inflammations that spread through his body and limited his practice to just four days. He says that proved to be a blessing in disguise.
“This year my off-season was different, maybe I was forced to do it. I worked more on my mind and my mental game, and I think that’s what paid off, I’m more stable than before, I’m calmer, I can think clearly and see things clearly,” he said.
“The time I couldn’t work on my tennis and my fitness, I used to improve on my mental side and I think that was key. I think that’s what I needed at this moment probably.”
Safwat will face French world No 82 Gregoire Barrere in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday.
