Benjamin Hassan became the first Lebanese tennis player to win a match at the Olympics on Sunday, saying he benefited from having “no rhythm.”
The 29-year-old defeated Christopher Eubanks of the United States, a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist and top 30 player, 6-4, 6-2.
“I worked a lot with the second serve as a first serve. I think he didn’t know what happened, actually,” said 29-year-old Hassan.
“Like, he didn’t get used to my rhythm because there was no rhythm.”
Hassan, ranked at 170 in the world, was born in Germany after his father Zaki fled the Lebanese civil war in the 1980s.
Despite being German-born, Hassan represented Lebanon in the Davis Cup since 2018 and, on Sunday, was carried to victory by loud, passionate support out on Court 11.
“It was an unbelievable atmosphere. I’m just trying to be calm because I don’t want to waste too much energy to get with the crowd,” he said.
“I had that in the past where I lost much energy throughout the whole match. I try to be calm, focused, and then when I win I can let it out.”
He will face either Argentina’s Sebastian Baez or Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro in the next round.
Before that, he is on a pin hunt to complete his collection from all the competing nations.
“I still need two more, but I’m out of pins because I want one from Thailand and Korea. I think the most special one is Japan because I’m a huge fan of Japan. I like watching a lot of animated mangas,” he said.
With AFP
