The draw for the Davis Cup World Group II match between Lebanon and South Africa took place at noon on Friday.
The match will be played on the main court of the Palm Hills Sports Club in Cairo, Egypt, on a clay surface.
Lebanon seems to have a great chance of winning against the South African team, especially after Benjamin Hassan and Hady Habib’s solid performance at the Summer Olympics in Paris. The Cedars will not want to miss this opportunity to win and prepare for the decisive clash in a few months’ time, with the aim of returning to World Group I, the elite category.
Looking at the world rankings, Lebanon is ranked 50th while South Africa is 54th, showing the proximity in level between the two countries. The coach of the Lebanese team, former international player Fadi Youssef, has called up the players from the land of the Cedars who will face South Africa: Benjamin Hassan, Hady Habib, Hassan Ibrahim, Fadi Beidan, and Moustafa Natour.
Here’s the match schedule:
Saturday, September 14 (men’s singles):
– 11:00 AM: Benjamin Hassan (Lebanon, ranked 195th in the world) against Alec Beckley (South Africa, ranked 641st in the world)
– 1:00 PM: Hady Habib (Lebanon, ranked 268th in the world) against Philip Henning (South Africa, ranked 360th in the world)
Sunday, September 15:
– 10:30 AM: Men’s doubles: Fadi Beidan (ranked 1182nd, born in 2006) and Moustafa Al-Natour (born in 2004) against Alec Beckley and Philip Henning (South Africa)
– 1:00 PM: Men’s singles: Benjamin Hassan against Philip Henning (South Africa)
– 3:00 PM: Men’s singles: Hady Habib against Alec Beckley (South Africa)
The Lebanese team met last Tuesday in Cairo and began training under the supervision of national coach Fadi Youssef, while the South African team is training under the direction of coach Christo van Rensburg.
It should be noted that the Lebanese Tennis Federation has chosen to hold the match due to the impossibility of organizing it in Lebanon because of the security situation and local conditions.
