Tennis

From Melbourne to Beirut: Hady Habib Rewrites Lebanese Tennis History

On Tuesday, Beirut once again celebrated the exploits of Hady Habib, national hero and now figurehead of Lebanese tennis. A few hours ago, the Lebanese player arrived at Beirut International Airport, where he was welcomed like a true champion by a jubilant crowd. The Lebanese Tennis Federation, headed by Alain Sayegh, had prepared a solemn ...

Djokovic Sets Up Alcaraz Clash, Sabalenka Surges into Melbourne Quarters

Novak Djokovic surged into an Australian Open quarter-final clash against Carlos Alcaraz with a dominant straight-sets victory on Sunday while women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka was a ruthless winner. Double defending champion Sabalenka is on a collision course with in-form world number three Coco Gauff in the semi-finals in Melbourne if ...

Veteran Monfils Stuns Fourth Seed Fritz at Australian Open

Gael Monfils said he was ready to "do some damage" after stunning fourth seed Taylor Fritz on Saturday to reach the last 16 at the Australian Open. The 38-year-old Frenchman fought back 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 to make the fourth round for a sixth time in his 19th Australian Open. He is the second-oldest man to reach the last 16 at Melbourne ...

Sinner Drops Rare Set En Route to Australian Open Third Round

World number one Jannik Sinner dropped a set for the first time in 14 matches on Thursday before surging back to keep his Australian Open title defence on track. The Italian top seed had no answers at the start against Australian wildcard Tristan Schoolkate, ranked 173, but found his groove to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 on centre court. It was his ...

Broken Dream, Intact Hope: Hady Habib's Epic Journey at the Australian Open

It’s over. After making millions of Lebanese dream and crystallizing their hopes, Hady Habib bowed out against Ugo Humbert on Wednesday in Melbourne. The Australian adventure ends for the Lebanese player, eliminated in the second round of the Australian Open. After making history in the first round by becoming the first Lebanese to win a match ...

Aggressive Sabalenka, Zverev Storm on as Rain Mars Australian Open

Aryna Sabalenka powered past Sloane Stephens to begin her quest for a third consecutive Australian Open crown Sunday with Alexander Zverev and Zheng Qinwen also winning as storms caused havoc on day one of the Grand Slam. Belarusian top seed Sabalenka had a first-set wobble but was otherwise in control against 2017 US Open champion Stephens, ...

Australian Open – Qualifiers: A chance for Lebanese Tennis

Lebanese tennis player Benjamin Hassan won in three sets against Colombian Nicolás Mejía, with a score of 4-6, 7-5, 4-6.  He will face Tunisia's Aziz Dougaz in the second qualifying round of the Australian Open on Wednesday at 7:10 AM Beirut time (the match start may be delayed due to an earlier match on the same court). Meanwhile, fellow ...

Djokovic Australian Open Preparations Take Hit With Loss to Opelka

Former world number one Novak Djokovic's Australian Open preparations suffered a blow Friday as he was bundled out of the Brisbane International by towering American Reilly Opelka. The 2.11 metre (six feet 11 inches) Opelka served magnificently and returned just as well to stun the 24-time Grand Slam winner 7-6 (8/6), 6-3. Djokovic had gone into ...

Tennis: Djokovic, Sabalenka Into Brisbane Quarters as Rising Stars Impress

Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka were in ominous form ahead of the Australian Open as both powered into the Brisbane International quarter-finals on Thursday. On a day when rising stars Mirra Andreeva and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard underlined their potential, Djokovic cruised past fellow veteran Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-3 in 72 minutes. In the ...

Lebanese Sports Federation Elections Resume in Mixed Climate

The Olympic elections began early in September with the elections of the skiing and biathlon federation, which resulted in the re-election of Freddy Keyrouz for a second term as head of the federation, following a lopsided electoral “battle.” The elections of the cycling federation, chaired by Misak Najarian, were appealed to the courts, which ...

Tennis: Hady Habib Gifts Lebanon a Historic Title

Hady Habib became the first tennis player to offer Lebanon a title in a Challenger category tournament, under the supervision of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). This follows his victory on Sunday in the final of the Temuco tournament, in Chile, against Argentina's Camilo Ugo Carabelli, with a score of 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 ...