pOf the 40 countries represented at Paris 2024 Olympics men's tennis event, Lebanon is the only one with no prior representation in the field./p
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But last month, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/benjamin-hassan/hg94/overview'Benjamin Hassan/a was notified that he would have the honour of becoming one of the first tennis players to represent Lebanon in the Olympics, alongside countryman a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/hady-habib/hf80/overview'Hady Habib/a, whom faces four-time major champion a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/carlos-alcaraz/a0e2/overview'Carlos Alcaraz/a in the first round. /p
pThe 29-year-old Hassan is among the field of 64 singles players via a lsquo;University Placersquo;, which awards one spot, in both menrsquo;s and womenrsquo;s, to nations that are under-represented in the Olympic Games. He will also partner Habib in doubles./p
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ldquo;When I first heard it, I couldnrsquo;t believe it. It was unbelievable for me because it was very spontaneous,rdquo; Hassan told ATPTour.com. ldquo;I heard before that they have some spots for players, but I wasnrsquo;t sure what kind of rule it was or if I could use that. I asked my Federation if they can check and they told me, lsquo;Look Benjamin, we are very late. Probably not going to work out.rsquo;/p
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ldquo;I thought, lsquo;Okay, therersquo;s no chance, but at least I tried.rsquo; I think a few days before the Stuttgart [ATP 250] tournament, I got the information. I was really happy.rdquo;/p
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To understand how Hassan has reached this point takes revisiting his past. Hassanrsquo;s father, Zaki, fled the Lebanon War in the early 1980s and emigrated to Germany, where he later met his wife, Fadia, who also is from Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon./p
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Though Benjamin was born and raised in Germany, he also holds Lebanese citizenship. He has proudly represented Lebanon in Davis Cup action since 2018./p
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ldquo;Lebanon is a very beautiful country. Very small. You have the mountains where you can ski, you have the beach, you can do it all in one day, a two hour drive. You have perfect nightlife, amazing food. I enjoy it every time I go there,rdquo; said Hassan, who faces a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/christopher-eubanks/e865/overview'Christopher Eubanks/a in the opening round of the Olympics./p
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One of 10 Lebanese athletes in the Paris Olympic Games, Hassan developed a passion for tennis alongside his father, a former Davis Cup player from the Middle Eastern country. Despite Hassan's early dreams of a professional tennis career, he faced challenges as a teenager, finding it difficult to dedicate himself fully to the sport./p
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ldquo;I think from 13 to 22, it was not in my mind anymore. I was studying in Germany, I really didnrsquo;t have it in my mind. I was a hobby player who played once a week just for fun,rdquo; Hassan said. ldquo;When I was a teenager, I was not interested in becoming a professional tennis player. It just didnrsquo;t catch me. I donrsquo;t know what it was, but I was really not into it./p
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ldquo;I was playing for fun with friends. I didnrsquo;t practise, didnrsquo;t do fitness, this kind of stuff. For that amount of practice, I was still really good, but far away from competing in professional tennis. Then I came back at 22.rdquo;/p
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The one-time lsquo;hobby playerrsquo; can now officially call himself an Olympian. One month removed from hitting his career-high No. 143 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the three-time ATP Challenger Tour finalist credits that minor-league-esque level as a key stepping stone to where he is today./p
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ldquo;End of 2017, 2018, I started with Futures. I played very well from the beginning, two finals, won a title. And I had the ranking around 400, 500. I wanted to go directly to Challengers. It took me a lot of years to adapt to that level because the level was so good. I had tough matches there,rdquo; Hassan said./p
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ldquo;I just remember struggling for a long time because the level was too good for me, even though I won Futures. You can see so many good guys in the Top 100 now who played a lot of Challengers and are still playing Challengers. The level is not that far from what we see on television.rdquo;/p
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This monthrsquo;s trip to Paris will already be memorable for Hassan, who hopes his parents and some of his four siblings can make the trip from Germany. And should a chance come to train with one of the sportrsquo;s superstars, it would only add to this exclusive trip of a lifetime./p
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ldquo;Irsquo;ve never in my career practised with the big names like Alcaraz, Nadal, Djokovic, Zverev,rdquo; said Hassan. ldquo;Irsquo;ve seen them a lot at tournaments, but Irsquo;ve never practised with them. I would like to this time.rdquo;/p
p[NEWSLETTER FORM]/p
