The Lebanese defeated the Chinese Bu Yunchaokete, 67th in the world, and could find Ugo Humbert in the next round.
The Lebanese Hady Habib became the first Lebanese to reach the second round of a Grand Slam tournament, beating the Chinese Bu Yunchaokete, 67th in the world, in three sets (7-6 (7/4)) in the first round on Sunday in Melbourne. , 6-4, 7-6 (8/6).
By beating Frenchman Clément Chidekh in qualifying on Thursday, the 219th player in the world had already made his mark on Lebanese tennis history. The last national from the country of 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 the time when the American major was still played on grass and was reserved for amateur players.
The Lebanese will face the French Ugo Humbert (14th) or the Italian Matteo Gigante (145th) in the second round. Under the cheers of the many representatives of the Lebanese diaspora present in Melbourne, Habib won the first set in the tie-break. He then pocketed the only break of the second set at 5-4, before serving for the match in the third set. But Bu held on before losing in the deciding game.
