(Reuters) – Hady Habib blazed a trail by taking Lebanon to the Olympic tennis tournament for the first time earlier this year and he is hoping another breakthrough at the Australian Open in January will bring comfort to his war-torn country.
The Texas-born 26-year-old enjoyed a special moment when, as a lucky loser, he went down 6-3 6-1 to major winner Carlos Alcaraz in the first round of the Olympic men’s singles at Roland Garros in July.
The experience fired his ambitions to get back to the biggest stages in the tennis world and he took a step towards that goal when he won a Challenger title in Chile earlier this month to clinch a spot in Australian Open qualifying.
“I just felt so much joy,” he told The National newspaper.
“I’d had a couple of hard weeks before that. This was a goal of mine and to be able to achieve it in this last tournament and being the first Lebanese to win a Challenger, just so much joy.”
The world number 216 is determined to make the most of his hard-earned opportunity and has changed plans to go home to Lebanon for Christmas and will instead train in South America with his Argentine coach.
Habib moved back to Lebanon with his family at the age of six and is extremely proud to represent the nation, particularly since the war in Gaza spilled over into conflict in the southern part of the country this year.
“I’ve been able to bring something positive and show the resilience that I have,” he told the newspaper.
“Everyone who’s living outside of Lebanon will tell you the same thing: it’s horrific to see what’s happening in a country that we all love so much.”
Habib will certainly be able to count on some crowd support in Melbourne in January with around 1% of the Australian population having Lebanese heritage.
“I have family in Australia who will come to watch me,” he said.
“It’s going to be amazing.”
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Mulvenney and Peter Rutherford)
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