MELBOURNE, Australia — (AP) — Hady Habib's history-making run at the Australian Open will continue after the first man to represent Lebanon in a Grand Slam singles tournament in the Open era became the first to win a match, defeating Bu Yunchaokete of China 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (6) on Sunday in front of a loud group of supporters.
“This is probably one of the best days of my career, honestly. It’s such an incredible feeling to get this win — not only for myself but for Lebanon and Lebanese tennis,” said the 26-year-old Habib, who is ranked outside the top 200 on the ATP Tour. “As you guys could see there, the crowd was absolutely wild. It made it even more special to win in front of them. ... I felt the energy out there.”
Habib was born in Houston, Texas, and played college tennis while a student at Texas A&M University.
In between, he lived in Lebanon — where his father is from — from the ages of about 6 to 12, he explained, and picked up the sport there. He represented Lebanon at the Paris Olympics last year, losing to four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz in the first round.
His sporting success has come during a war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. A fragile ceasefire deal was struck in November after more than a year of fighting.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023 — the day after Hamas launched a deadly attack into Israel that led to the ongoing war in Gaza. Subsequent Israeli air and ground assaults have killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians.
“It’s a huge win, especially what we’ve been going through as a country,” Habib said. “It’s just nice to get this win for Lebanon and for the people.”
Habib said he decided to play for Lebanon when he was 15.
“I just wanted to represent the country that I’ve lived in, and been a part of the tennis culture. ... It’s a decision I made at a young age,” he said. “Just gives me the motivation to keep going. To play for a small country is something special for me.”
He won three matches in qualifying rounds for lower-ranked players last week just to get into the field of 128 players at Melbourne Park.
Now Habib is one of the 64 men to make it into the second round — where he'll go up against 14th-seeded Ugo Humbert of France — after his victory on Day 1, which was achieved with the help of 61 winners, 36 more than his opponent.
“There’s obviously a lot of tension and normal thoughts you have ... but I try to focus on things I can control,” Habib said. “That’s what seems to help me.”
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