Devoted bands of Lebanese supporters – some donning ‘The Cedars’, the red and white kit of the national football team – are quick to cram courtside whenever one of their own is in action.
For a nation that has traditionally lacked any recognised tennis heroes, it was unheard of at a Grand Slam until last year when Benjamin Hassan at Roland Garros and Hady Habib at Melbourne Park before him each made history.
Hassan has soaked up the fanfare up close and personal from both sides of the courtside barrier – as a friend and supporter of his younger compatriot, Habib, and as a player having navigated qualifying rounds at each of the four majors himself.
On Monday, the late-blooming 30-year-old experienced it again after he reached the second round of Australian Open qualifying for the second year running following a 5-7 6-3 6-2 victory over Croatian Matej Dodig.
Those red and white-clad fans scattered among the stands around Court 13 will only swell in numbers with each passing round should Hassan progress further.
He knows firsthand, having experienced it in Paris last May when he became the first Lebanese player to qualify for Roland Garros in the Open era.
“For Lebanese people, it's unbelievable. I mean, they're having so much trouble now in Lebanon,” Hassan said.
RESULTS: Day 1 qualifying at AO 2026
“I think it's a good sign even with Hady [Habib] here last year, what he did here was unbelievable. And you can see also in the media, the Lebanese people were going crazy, so it gives them hope, I think. It cheers them up, the motivation, and we have so many Lebanese people outside of Lebanon, here in Australia and places like Brazil. I think it helps us a lot.”
Proud of their Lebanese heritage, German-born Hassan and US-born Habib both earned a call-up to contest singles and doubles at the Paris 2024 Olympics at Roland Garros.
While having brought their loyal band of supporters joy, neither have returned to Lebanon as often as they would have liked given the ongoing unrest there, much less competed in a professional tennis match, such as Davis Cup, there.
“We really wish that the situation, the political situation, is going to be OK there soon and then hopefully we can play there [in Davis Cup],” Hassan said. “I think the atmosphere is gonna be crazy when we are there. It's our biggest dream, actually, to play in Lebanon again.”
Hassan witnessed the surge in support during Habib’s Australian Open fairytale four months prior to his own history-making dash last year, when his countryman became the first Lebanese player to qualify for a Grand Slam main draw in the Open era and then won a round.
The Cedars were out in force and raucous celebrations expectedly ensued.
DRAW: AO 2026 men's qualifying singles
“I didn't know before that there are so many Lebanese people here in Australia,” Hassan said. “I remember I was out here on I think Court 12 where I watched his [final-round qualifying] match against [Clement] Chidekh and I pushed him. I just wanted him to win, and it was a crazy round for him.
“It was his first Grand Slam qualifying and winning the first round of the Australian Open for the first time ever. It was perfect. I was really happy for him.”
The world No.259 faces Portugal’s Jaime Faria next, while Habib has the chance to join Hassan in the second round of qualifying when he meets 29th seed Zachary Svajda on Tuesday.
“It would be crazy to qualify. I hope I can do it,” Hassan said. “The best would be with Hady together.”
Portuguese duo begin with wins
Like Hassan to Habib, the 22-year-old Faria is his Portuguese compatriot Henrique Rocha’s biggest supporter.
While Portugal had enjoyed far greater tennis success historically than the likes of Lebanon, it was hardly flushed with the depth and star power of neighbouring European nations such as Spain or France.
Faria and Rocha have been outliers breaking through on a Grand Slam stage last year from a nation in which football reigns supreme.
Porto-based Rocha withstood a barrage from Brazil’s Joao Lucas Reis da Silva on Monday to advance 6-2 6-4, minutes before Lisbon local Faria held off Croatia’s Luka Mikrut 7-6(2) 7-5.
“Always happy for him. He's my roommate in Portugal, a great guy,” Faria said. “There's not many players in Portugal at a good level, so we met when we he was 15, me 16 at the federation, where we started practising together.
“We’re both extroverted, always like to have fun and be the main guys in the group, but yeah, he’s a bit more organised than me mentally. I'm a bit more distracted.”
Faria was not short on focus a year ago when he qualified at Melbourne Park and won a round before the biggest moment in his short career when he took a set off 10-time champion Novak Djokovic.
“That was the most important match of my career, of course – an amazing experience,” he said. “To play on a court, packed with 15,000 people, against the GOAT, it's amazing. Just watching him on the other side of the net, it’s just a bit terrifying, but I learned so much from that match.”
Rocha’s moment came at Roland Garros in May when he too qualified for his maiden Grand Slam main draw before he reached the third round in a whirlwind two weeks.
While Rocha and Faria can’t both qualify for this Australian Open – they could meet in the final round – the 21-year-old Rocha would be delighted if either booked their main draw berth at Melbourne Park.
“We have shared so many moments together,” Rocha said ahead of a meeting with 18th seed Marco Trungelliti. “I think this both improved us in our matches and our level. It's very nice that I can have my best friend here.”
In other opening rounds qualifying results, American fifth seed Brandon Holt, as well as Japanese pair Rei Sakamoto (the AO 2024 junior champion) and eighth seed Yoshihito Nishioka advanced.
Chilean former world No.16 Nicolas Jarry fell to France’s Titouan Droguet and No.3 seed Nikolaz Basilashili of Georgia went down to Peruvian Gonzalo Bueno.