Paris 2024 Olympics - Tennis Training - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - July 25, 2024. Carlos Alcaraz of Spain during training. REUTERS/Claudia Greco
PARIS (Reuters) - Lebanon's Hady Habib thought he was dreaming when he walked into the player's gym at Roland Garros and saw Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic working out ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Now, because of a quirk of fate, the Houston-born 25-year-old will walk out on Court Suzanne Lenglen on Saturday to face Carlos Alcaraz in the first round of the men's singles.
Ranked 275th in the ATP's singles rankings, Habib was only slated to play doubles in Paris with Benjamin Hassan.
But when world number one Jannik Sinner withdrew from the Olympics with tonsillitis on Wednesday, Habib, who plays his tennis on the second-level Challenger Tour, received a call-up.
Things rapidly escalated and Thursday's draw pitched him against Spanish second seed Alcaraz, the new force in men's tennis and winner of the French Open and Wimbledon this year.
"Originally, I was supposed to play only doubles with Benjamin. On Wednesday, I heard I got in as an alternate," he said. "And the day after that I'm drawn to playing Carlos Alcaraz. So this has been an interesting five days for me."
Habib began playing as a youngster in Mtyleb, Lebanon, before his parents Fady and Suzy moved back to the U.S. to help him and his sister Hoda pursue tennis careers. He will now become the first player to represent Lebanon in Olympic tennis.
"I've been filled with emotions, excitement, a little bit of nerves, but it's good. I'm really excited to get this opportunity to play, represent Lebanon," he said after training on Friday. "I was just happy to be an Olympian. Now I'm playing Alcaraz on (Court) Suzanne Lenglen.
"I'm so happy and stoked, and ready and excited to play."
It has been a whirlwind for Habib who said his phone has been "blowing up" with good luck messages. "It's just been amazing. Life can just change in an instant," he said.
"You could say it's a fairytale."
With his usual tennis existence in some of the sport's backwaters, playing in front of tiny crowds, if any at all, Habib can be forgiven at being a bit bowled over when he walked in to Roland Garros for the first time in his life.
"The first day I arrived, obviously everything is new for me. So I was walking around a little bit lost just opening a door and going in somewhere," he admitted.
"I was just trying to figure out where everything is. When I walked in the gym the first day, I saw Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic and I was just, 'Wow, this has to be a dream. Someone wake me up'."
Win or almost certainly lose, his clash with Alcaraz will be big news back in Lebanon.
"We've been going through some hard times, so it's really nice to get some good news to the country," he said. "It's special, inspiring the young players in Lebanon, so they're able to push themselves and maybe get to this stage one day."
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
