Opposed this night in the second round to French number one Ugo Humbert, the Lebanese Hady Habib made history in Melbourne.
A waking dream
By dominating the Chinese Bu Yunchaokete, 67th in the world, (7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 7-6 (8/6), Hady Habib became the first Lebanese to reach the second round of a Grand Prix tournament. Slam. In Melbourne, he only dropped one set in four matches By beating the Frenchman Clément Chidekh, the 219th player in the world had already marked the Tennis history of Lebanon. cedar to have qualified in singles for the final draw of a Grand Slam was until now Karim Fawaz, eliminated in the first round of the 1962 US Open at a time when the American Grand Slam was still played on grass and was reserved to amateur players…
He continues the first
He is used to dusting off his country’s history books. After several years of vegetating between 400th and 800th place in the world, the Lebanese got closer to the Top 200 over the last two seasons and reached his best ranking (219th), which opened the door to the Olympics for the first time. from Paris. At 26, he became the first Lebanese player to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games, logically losing in the first round against Carlos Alcaraz, future silver medalist (6-3, 6-1). And at the end of last year, he gleaned his first title on the Challenger circuit, the second level of the world circuit in Temuco, Chile. Never seen before.
He could have played for the United States
Son of an American-Iranian and a Lebanese man, Habib was born in Houston, Texas and has dual nationality. And it is with Lebanon that he has been competing in the Davis Cup since 2015. He lived there from 6 to 11 years old. It was in the suburbs of Beirut that he discovered tennis at the age of 9. “People ask me why I chose to represent Lebanon, but for me the decision was easy, he declared at a press conference. I grew up in Lebanon and I know the values and people of this country. I just wanted to represent the country I lived in and be part of the tennis culture and everyone in my country.”. But it was in the United States that he perfected his tennis. “I wanted to become a professional tennis player. That’s when I moved to the United States at the age of 11.” He spent time in California before heading to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He later played at Texas A&M and earned a degree in sports management. Which is reflected in his clear and fluent English.
Tennis player in a country at war
His personal successes took place in the midst of war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. A fragile ceasefire agreement was reached on November 27 after nearly 14 months of war. The tennis player tries to bring a little joy to his compatriots. “With everything the country is going through, I think it’s good to bring something positive. We experienced war and a lot of problems, so winning is nice for Lebanon (…) Every morning, I woke up during this difficult period, I contacted all the members of my family, my friends, to ask me make sure they were okay”he told SBS News. My heart is broken to see what is happening to our country and our people. It was a tough time mentally, knowing there’s nothing you can do to help, but I’m glad things are calming down now. I hope we find peace ».
Morocco
