Hadi Habib He doesn’t seem to find anything too scary about the Australian Open now that the first Lebanese player of the Open era to reach the men’s singles draw of a Grand Slam. Habib won all three qualifying rounds at Melbourne Park and on Thursday won his third match in a tiebreak 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8) against Frenchman Clement Chidekh to book a place in the main draw of the tournament that starts on Sunday.
Habibthat debuted last year at the Paris Olympic Games, He crashed Carlos Alcaraz in the first roundsilver medalist and winner of four major tournaments. They were two sets that he would remember for a long time. At the end of last year, he made history in Temuco (Chile) by becoming the first Lebanese champion of the ATP Challenger Tour.
Habib, 26, was born in Houston, Texas, and moved to Lebanon as a child.where he learned to play. He returned to the United States to pursue a professional career and now seems like a representative of the spirit of the Lebanese people. “I know it’s just a sport, but I feel like representing Lebanon and sacrificing everything I had to do to get here is a little like how our country fought.», Habib declared this week on the Australian network SBS News. His personal victory came at a difficult time in the war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
On November 27, a fragile ceasefire agreement was reached after nearly 14 months of war. Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel that sparked the current war in Gaza. Subsequent Israeli air and ground attacks killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians.
At the height of the war, over a million Lebanese were displaced. «Every morning when I wake up in a difficult moment, I contact all my family and friends to make sure they are okay.» Habib told SBS News. “My heart broke when I saw what was happening to our country and our people.
“It’s been a tough time for me mentally, I know there’s nothing you can do to help, but I’m glad things have calmed down now. I hope we can find peace.” Habib’s opponent in the first round at Melbourne Park will be determined when all qualifiers enter the main draw.
Source: La Verdad
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