Hady Habib eyeing top 100 after historic Australian Open run

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Updated 24 February 2025
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Hady Habib eyeing top 100 after historic Australian Open run

  • Lebanese trailblazer grateful for ‘huge learning experience’ in Doha and Dubai
  • 26-year-old has moved up the rankings from 320 to 166 in the world in the span of two months

DUBAI: Life has been a whirlwind for Lebanese tennis player Hady Habib these past few months, but you would not know that by speaking to him, given his calm and collected demeanor.

The 26-year-old moved up the rankings from 320 to 166 in the world in the span of two months, and in the process made history as the first Lebanese in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam singles main draw match, at the Australian Open a few weeks ago.

When he reached the second round in Melbourne, he received an unexpected phone call from the president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun.

“I was actually at the gym. This was after I won my first round, and I get a call from this random number. They didn’t really tell me who was going to talk to you. Some guy from the presidential palace was like, ‘I have someone to talk to you,’ and then this guy congratulated me,” Habib told Arab News this week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

“He said ‘congrats’. I’m like, ‘sorry, who am I speaking to?’ He’s like, ‘this is the president.’

“I'm like, oh my God. I just had to pause for a moment just to let that sink in. I was like, thank you so much. It means a lot. It was really special to have him congratulate me, being the president of Lebanon. He’s also new as well. So I also congratulated him for being newly elected. It was a very cool moment.”

After Australia, Habib spent just two days at home with his family before travelling to Dubai for a one-week training block. He then went to Cairo to compete in the Davis Cup for Lebanon against Peru before accepting wildcards into the main draws of the ATP 500 tournaments in Doha and Dubai.

Competing at a Grand Slam and at these ATP events in the Middle East has allowed Habib to venture into new territory, sharing draws and locker rooms with the best tennis players on the planet. It has exposed him to a level of tennis he has been striving to reach, and to tournaments he had been dreaming of taking part in.

“It still feels new. I just need to let it sink in,” the Texas-born Lebanese said.

“It feels like you’ve been watching these tournaments growing up, and just seeing these guys play, and to be able to play in the same draw as them, like Novak (Djokovic) and all the players, it’s just a lot to sink in.

“I’m just really happy to be able to experience this level of tennis and to be around all these great players. Hopefully, I’ll get to that level. I'm working towards it.”

Habib lost his opening matches in Doha and Dubai, but considers this Middle East swing “a huge learning experience.”

His coach, Patricio Heras, has been encouraging him to keep things simple and stick to the fundamentals, even in the face of all these new challenges.

“I think that we need to be very open-minded to learning,” Heras told Arab News on Sunday.

“Not to focus on the things we don’t have yet, but on the things we can take from every match, from the players. All these players are new for us, so is being in these tournaments. We have to focus on learning and focusing on what they do good and try to imitate them, rather than think, ‘no, I don’t have this. No, no, let’s focus on the good things and be open-minded.”

The top tier of professional tennis can sometimes feel like an exclusive club that is difficult to break into.

Getting invited to compete in the ATP events in Doha and Dubai has given Habib a sneak peek into what he hopes will soon be his life on tour.

“Honestly, I feel like I’m the new guy here. I don’t really have any friends at this level. Everyone probably has their own circle and cult, so it’s difficult in a way because I’m trying to set up practices, and everyone’s already set,” Habib said.

“I end up hitting (with) my coach most of the time, but it’s a bit of a transition to get used to the new environment, the new players, and trying to get yourself in there in a way, trying to practice with them and stuff like that. It’s a learning experience. I’m trying to do the best I can to learn and try to eventually play these events as much as possible.”

Between winning a Challenger title in the very last week of tournaments in 2024, and his run to the Australian Open second round, as a qualifier, at the start of 2025, things have escalated quickly for Habib, who finds himself in search of new goals, now that his previous targets have been reached.

“One of my goals is to be in the top 100. Of course, that’s every tennis player’s dream, is to be able to be in that ranking, to play the main draw of the slams and get in all these big tournaments, but that’s my goal for now, to be in the top 100,” Habib said.

Heras has total belief in his charge’s potential, and says Habib’s professionalism is what sets him apart.

“He takes care of himself in a very professional way. He does the things he needs to do. He’s a very calm guy,” the Argentinian coach said.

“Sometimes it’s hard for him to explain what he’s going through and I think that sometimes it’s not good because he’s not expressing himself with me or with someone else. And he tries to manage everything by himself and it’s so tough to hold everything in. In some way he’s managing it and I think that is a really good part because it makes him a mature person.”

Heras added: “I think that, tennis-wise, he doesn’t have a ceiling. It’s everything in his mind and let’s see how far he can go. But I think that, tennis-wise, he has all the chances to be top 100, and even top 50, I would say. Not only because I trust him and I have confidence but because I can see from his practices, from the matches he’s playing during the tournaments. It’s really exciting.”


Morocco’s Elmehdi El-Jamari set for high-stakes clash against Thailand’s Aliff at ONE Fight Night 32

Elmehdi El-Jamari is bolstered by a decorated career at the national and international levels. supplied
Updated 07 May 2025
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Morocco’s Elmehdi El-Jamari set for high-stakes clash against Thailand’s Aliff at ONE Fight Night 32

  • Among his accolades are seven Moroccan Muay Thai championships, two Arab titles, and championship belts under the K-1 and WBC banners

RIYADH: Moroccan Muay Thai standout Elmehdi El-Jamari is set to return to the ring in a thrilling strawweight clash against Thailand’s Aliff Sor Dechapan at ONE Fight Night 32, scheduled for June 7 at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

The highly anticipated bout will see El-Jamari attempt to build on his electrifying debut earlier this year, where he secured a knockout victory over Thongpoon PK Saenchai.

The 27-year-old enters the contest with a sterling professional record of 27 wins and just one loss, bolstered by a decorated career at the national and international levels.

Among his accolades are seven Moroccan Muay Thai championships, two Arab titles, and championship belts under the K-1 and WBC banners.

El-Jamari, the younger brother of fellow ONE Championship athlete Zakaria El-Jamari, is aiming to continue his rise within the division by toppling another local favorite in front of a partisan Thai crowd.

However, he faces a formidable opponent in Aliff Sor Dechapan, one of Thailand’s brightest young talents. The 21-year-old boasts a formidable 60-9 professional record, including a 7-2 run in ONE Championship, where five of his victories have come by stoppage. Aliff enters the bout riding a three-fight win streak, with two of those wins coming via first-round knockouts.

Standing 7 cm taller than his Moroccan opponent and enjoying the backing of the home crowd in Bangkok, Aliff will look to use his reach and momentum to maintain his winning form. But El-Jamari, known for his aggressive striking and well-timed combinations, has proved he can silence a Thai crowd — and will aim to do so again on fight night.

ONE Fight Night 32 will be broadcast live from Bangkok at 3 a.m. Makkah time on beIN SPORTS and via the ONE Championship’s official platform, watch.onefc.com.


Al-Faisal Al-Zubair wins Gold Cup at Brands Hatch

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Updated 07 May 2025
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Al-Faisal Al-Zubair wins Gold Cup at Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch (England): Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT’s Al-Faisal Al-Zubair and teammate Jens Klingmann delivered a sensational performance to win the second of the one-hour Sprint races at the opening round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series at Brands Hatch in England on Sunday.

After finishing fifth in the first of the two short races, Al-Zubair and Klingmann delivered a masterclass in pit strategy to kickstart their season in the new series with outright victory in the Gold Cup category and sixth position overall in Sprint Race Two at the helm of the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

Al-Zubair said: “Starting off doing very minimal laps in the Sprint Championship was something to get used to. Brands Hatch is such a difficult track, and we didn’t have much running time. There were a few red flags in practice. I think we did a total of 20 laps before we got into qualifying. It was not so easy.

“We started off with qualifying on the wrong foot. We finished fifth in class in the first race and then we won the second race. To jump so many people in the second stint and in the pit stop is something that we should be very happy of. It is good to get a start like this, and we can look forward to the rest of the season.”

Al-Zubair began the opening one-hour Sprint race from sixth on the Gold Cup grid but was not able to make headway through the opening laps. Arthur Rougier drove the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari to give the CSA Racing McLaren a brief lead, but Chris Lulham hit the front again in the Ferrari after the mid-race pit stop and driver change.

Klingmann took over from Al-Zubair with the sole target of moving up the field, and he managed to sneak ahead of James Kell in the CSA Racing McLaren following the driver changeovers after 23 laps.

Lulham continued to lead from Louis Prette in the Garage 59 McLaren as the opening Sprint race headed into its closing stages and on to the checkered flag. Klingmann held on to secure a fifth-place finish for the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW after 42 laps of racing.

Race Two took place in similar cool and overcast conditions in the afternoon. Klingmann took the wheel for the first stint and quickly settled into fourth place behind the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari, the Sainteloc Racing Audi and the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi.

Full course yellows failed to prevent Klingmann from maintaining his position, but the damage was done at the driver changeover when the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT delivered the strategy to perfection and Al-Zubair hit the front.

The Omani continued to lead from the defending champions, Sainteloc Racing, and overcame another full course yellow to win Race Two with a margin of just under three seconds to Thierry Vermeulen and Lulham in the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 after 37 laps.

Al-Zubair and Klingmann carried out free practice on Saturday morning and ran the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW for 30 laps. The team carded a best lap of 1 minute 24.186 seconds that put them fifth of the Gold Cup runners. The Emil Frey Racing Ferrari topped the times with a tour of 1 minute 23.178 seconds.

Pre-qualifying was next on the agenda, but the Al-Manar Racing duo could only manage a best lap of 1 minute 24.720 seconds, and the bragging rights from the Gold Cup session went to the Garage 59 McLaren with a time of 1 minute 24.122 seconds.

Qualifying was split into two sessions, and Al-Zubair managed six laps in Q1. The Omani carded a best tour of 1 minute 24.626 seconds, and that put him in sixth in the stint, with Thierry Vermeulen winning Q1 for Emil Frey Racing with a lap of 1 minute 23.374 seconds.

Klingmann fared slightly better in Q2 and was classified fifth in the Gold Cup runners with a best lap of 1 minute 24.012 seconds, with Lulham winning the stint for Emil Frey Racing to claim pole position for the first of the two one-hour Sprint races.

Action in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Series continues at Zandvoort in the Netherlands on May 16-18. 


India coach Gambhir wants no cricket with Pakistan

Updated 07 May 2025
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India coach Gambhir wants no cricket with Pakistan

  • Two-way cricket between nuclear-armed neighbors remains suspended since 2013
  • They play each other only in multi-team tournaments, mostly in neutral venues

NEW DELHI: India head coach Gautam Gambhir personally believes the country should not play any cricket with Pakistan, not even in neutral venues, after a deadly Islamist militant attack in Indian Kashmir last month.
India struck nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir on Wednesday in response to the April 22 killing of 26 tourists in the Himalayan region.
Two-way cricket between the nuclear-armed neighbors remains suspended since 2013 and they play each other only in multi-team tournaments, mostly in neutral venues.
“My personal answer to this is absolutely no,” Gambhir said on Tuesday, hours before India launched the airstrikes, when asked for his view on India-Pakistan cricket.
“Till all this doesn’t stop, there should not be anything between India and Pakistan.”
Any match between the arch-rivals remains a cricketing blockbuster and is declared sold out within hours after tickets go on sale.
India have dominated that rivalry in recent years but emotions still run high on either side of the border whenever the cricket-mad neighbors clash.
Pakistan’s men’s team toured India for the 50-overs World Cup in 2023 but their neighbors have not reciprocated.
India refused to tour Pakistan for the Champions Trophy earlier this year and played all their matches in Dubai instead.
Gambhir said he would follow whatever the Indian cricket board (BCCI) or the government decide on bilateral cricket with Pakistan.
“Ultimately, this is (the) government’s decision whether we play them or not,” Gambhir said.
“This is not up to me, it’s not in my jurisdiction. This is for BCCI and, more importantly, the government to decide whether we should play them or not.
“Whatever decision they make, we should be absolutely fine with it and not politicize it.”
Last month India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra withdrew his invitation to Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem to compete in a May 24 event in the southern city of Bengaluru following the Kashmir attack.
 


Alpine promotes Franco Colapinto to replace Jack Doohan for the next 5 Formula 1 Grand Prix races

Updated 07 May 2025
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Alpine promotes Franco Colapinto to replace Jack Doohan for the next 5 Formula 1 Grand Prix races

  • The team says Flavio Briatore will continue as executive adviser and will cover Oakes’ duties
  • Apline says “Colapinto will be paired with Pierre Gasly from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, ahead of a new evaluation before the British Grand Prix in July”

LONDON: Formula 1 team Alpine has changed its driver lineup to promote Franco Colapinto for at least the next five Grand Prix races at the expense of Jack Doohan.
Alpine confirmed the change Wednesday, a day after Oliver Oakes quit as team principal. The team said Flavio Briatore will continue as executive adviser and will cover Oakes’ duties.
“Colapinto will be paired with Pierre Gasly from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, ahead of a new evaluation before the British Grand Prix in July,” Alpine said in a statement.
Alpine is ninth in the F1 constructors’ standings after six rounds. The next race weekend is May 16-18 at Imola.
At Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix, Doohan ran into another car on the opening lap and then crashed on the second lap.
Media reports of a driver rotation were dismissed ahead of the Miami GP weekend by Oakes, who had indicated that the rookie Australian driver would remain in the seat.
Doohan, who didn’t score a point in his seven GP races and had a best finish of 13th, will revert to being the team’s reserve driver.
The son of five-time motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan, Jack Doohan made his Formula 1 debut in the last race of 2024 and started this year for Alpine at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. He replaced Esteban Ocon, who left Alpine after a disappointing 2024.
Colapinto joined Alpine as a reserve driver in January after racing in 2024 for Williams, where he earned five points after replacing Logan Sargeant in August.


Pakistan cricket board says PSL tournament to continue despite regional tensions

Updated 07 May 2025
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Pakistan cricket board says PSL tournament to continue despite regional tensions

  • PSL features several foreign players and is credited with reviving international cricket in Pakistan
  • PCB says the cricket league will proceed, with Islamabad United set to take on Quetta Gladiators today

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday confirmed that the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) will proceed as scheduled, with Islamabad United set to face Quetta Gladiators later tonight in Rawalpindi, despite rising military tensions with neighboring India.
The match is set to begin at 8 PM local time at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, marking the league’s return to the city for four consecutive fixtures from May 7 to 10.
“HBL Pakistan Super League X will continue as planned with Islamabad United set to take on Quetta Gladiators later today at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium,” reads a handout issued by PCB.
The final group match, the PCB added, will be played in Multan on May 11, followed by the Eliminator in Rawalpindi on May 13. The playoffs and final are scheduled for May 14, 16 and 18 at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium.
The confirmation comes hours after Pakistan’s military said Indian missile strikes had killed at least 26 civilians and wounded 46 in cross-border attacks on six locations inside Pakistani territory.
India’s defense ministry said it had launched “Operation Sindoor,” targeting what it claimed were “militant infrastructure” linked to a recent deadly assault on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
New Delhi has blamed the attack on Pakistan, a charge Islamabad has repeatedly denied.
Responding to the Indian attack, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the country’s air force had downed five Indian fighter jets in the early hours of Wednesday.
The PSL, which features several foreign players, is widely credited with reviving international cricket in Pakistan after a decade-long suspension following the 2009 militant attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.
The HBL PSL, now in its 10th season, is considered Pakistan’s premier T20 franchise competition and a symbol of the country’s sporting resilience.
Since its full return to home soil in 2020, it has helped Pakistan rebuild its reputation as a safe destination for international cricket.