MELBOURNE – Lebanese qualifier Hady Habib broke new ground for the strife-torn nation on Sunday as he beat China’s Bu Yunchaokete 7-6(4) 6-4 7-6(6) to reach the second round of the Australian Open.
The world number 219 became his country’s first player to win a men’s singles main draw match at a Grand Slam in the professional era and soaked up wild cheers from a rowdy crowd packing the small terraces on Melbourne Park’s Court 13.
With fans chanting his name, the Texas-born 26-year-old raised his racket at the crowd and held up a Lebanese flag after claiming the decisive tiebreak.
Habib moved back to Lebanon with his family at the age of six before returning to the U.S. to develop his game as a junior.
He represented Lebanon at the Paris Olympics and became the country’s first player to win an event on the second-tier ATP Challenger Tour in Chile last year.
