The latter stages of Grand Slams are often reserved for the top-ranked players, unless a shock player manages a once in a lifetime run.
In order to make the last eight of a Grand Slam, a player must get the better of four players, which is no mean feat in the 32-seed era.
Defeating players in a best-of-five format makes the feat even harder, but Hicham Arazi managed to reach the last eight of a Grand Slam on four occasions.
The star was never ranked inside the top 20 of the ATP Tour, but he produced several scalps throughout his career.
Hicham Arazi’s impressive tennis career did not translate in the rankings
Arazi played between 1993 and 2007, and he often proved a very difficult player to come against on the big stages.
The Moroccan reached the quarter-final of Roland Garros in 1997 and 1998, as well as the Australian Open last eight in 2000 and 2004.
Arazi was not seeded at any of those Grand Slams and he managed to defeat Todd Woodbridge, Marcelo Rios, and Jiri Novak.
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He made upsets the trademark of his entire career, as he also picked up victories against Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moyá, and Jim Courier.
Despite clearly being able to go toe-to-toe with some of the biggest stars in the history of the sport, Arazi bizarrely never managed to crack the top 20 of the rankings.
The Moroccan’s career high was world number 22, which he achieved in November 2001.
Hicham Arazi’s sole career title on the ATP Tour
Arazi might have been able to turn on his powers when faced with the elite of the ATP Tour, but he only won one tournament in his tennis career.
The sole victory came on home soil at the 1997 Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca, Morocco after the star defeated Franco Squillari in the final.
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The star reached another two finals, including a maiden Masters final at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2001.
Arazi lost to three-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one, Gustavo Kuerten, in three sets.
