A Lebanese trailblazer

Ravi Ubha

Benjamin Hassan bucked the trend at the Almaty Open, becoming the lone unseeded qualifier to reach the main draw.

Let’s find out more about the 29-year-old Hassan, who plays home wildcard Beibit Zhukayev on Tuesday at the Almaty Arena.

Hassan was born and has lived in Germany his entire life, the middle of five children. He represents Lebanon in the Davis Cup though and has posted a 15-6 singles record.

Hassan became the first Lebanese player to win an Olympic tennis match when he defeated Chris Eubanks at the Paris Games in July. He almost engineered a bigger upset in the second round, taking clay-proficient Argentine Sebastian Baez to a third-set tiebreak.

His dad, Zaki, also represented Lebanon in the Davis Cup.

He once pulled off a miraculous feat

How many players can say that they have saved 12 match points and won? Hassan can. He achieved the feat at a Challenger in Banja Luka in 2022 against Lucas Miedler.

He almost never had a pro career

Hassan’s dad coached him from a young age but becoming a pro tennis player wasn’t always his top priority.

«Until 12, 13, it was really my goal, my dream to become a tennis player,» he said. «But then all of a sudden, I don’t know what happened, I lost complete motivation and fun with the sport, so I think when I was 13, 14, I started not to play that much, not to practice that much — once a week with friends.»

He studied to become a teacher and it was only in 2017 that Hassan decided to fully commit to tennis after — with a ranking of 1302 — he took former No. 43 Teymuraz Gabashvili to three sets at his home Challenger in Koblenz.

He has won two pro titles

Hassan’s two professional titles came in 2018 and 2022. He has never won a Challenger title but made three finals.

And when it comes to Grand Slams, he is seeking a first main draw appearance. Hassan did reach the second round of French Open qualifying this year — and was on the wrong end of match point drama.

On that occasion, Italy’s Andrea Vavassori saved two match points on Hassan’s serve and won in three sets.

Last year, Hassan saved three match points to beat the doubles Grand Slam winner in Stockholm qualifying.

«That’s tennis,» said Hassan in July. «We’re good friends. We’re still laughing now about it.»