Benjamin Hassan became the first Lebanese tennis player to win a match at the Olympics on Sunday after defeating former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Christopher Eubanks in straight sets.
The 29-year-old, ranked 170 in the world, overcame the American – who has reached a career high of No 29 in the rankings – 6-4, 6-2 at Roland Garros.
Eubanks enjoyed a memorable surge on to the tennis scene in 2023 when claimed his maiden ATP Tour title in Mallorca and reached his first major quarter-final on the All England Club grass, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.
But Eubanks has struggled this season, he is currently No 105 in the world, and was brushed aside by a player who has never been beyond the second round in a Grand Slam.
“I worked a lot with the second serve as a first serve. I think he didn't know what happened, actually,” said 29-year-old Hassan. “Like, he didn't get used to my rhythm because there was no rhythm.”
Hassan was born in Germany after his father Zaki fled the Lebanon civil war in the 1980s.
Despite being German-born, Hassan has represented Lebanon in the Davis Cup since 2018 and on Sunday was carried to victory by loud, passionate support out on Court 11.
“It was an unbelievable atmosphere. I'm just trying to be calm because I don't want to waste too much energy to get with the crowd,” he said.
“I had that in the past where I lost much energy throughout the whole match. I try to be calm, focused, and then when I win I can let it out.”
He will face either Argentina's Sebastian Baez or Thiago Monteiro of Brazil in the next round.
Before that, however, he is on a pin hunt to complete his collection from all the competing nations. “I still need two more, but I'm out of pins because I want one from Thailand and Korea. I think the most special one is Japan because I'm a huge fan of Japan. I like watching a lot of animated mangas,” he added.
Jordan's Zeyad Ishaish made the perfect start to his medal bid in boxing's 71kg division with a stunning victory over Kazakhstan's Aslanbek Shymbergenov. Shymbergenov, the reigning Asian and world champion, was fancied for a medal himself but was taken out by Ishaish, who edged a 3-2 split decision victory on Sunday.
Ishaish, 25, will now face Japan's Sewon Okazawa, the 2021 world gold medal winner at welterweight, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Should he get that far then he will meet either Lewis Richardson of Team GB or Serbia's Vakhid Abbasov.
Ishaish and Okazawa have met three times previously with the Japanese fighter leading the head-to-head 2-1. He won their first fight five years ago but Ishaish has improved markedly since then. Their two most recent bouts were shared one win apiece and both settled by split decision.
Zeyad's older brother Hussein starts his campaign at 80kg on Tuesday.
Speaking to The National before the Games, the brothers talked about how the pursuit of their Olympic dream has created a special bond between them.
“We are more than just brothers, we are friends,” explained Zeyad. “We used to box against each other and our ambition was to qualify for the Olympics. Thank God we made it.
“We are the type of brothers who spent their lifetime together, people think we are friends not brothers.
“It's a great feeling to be qualified for the Olympics. After I saw my brother compete in 2016, I was really motivated to join him one day and book our tickets together.”
The Jordanian boxing team are now two wins from two at the Games following Abada Al Kasbeh's victory over Ireland's Dean Clancy in the 63.5kg division yesterday.
Egyptian duo Doaa Elghobashy and Marwa Abdelhady put up a brave fight before falling to defeat against Brazil in their beach volleyball opener at Eiffel Tower Stadium on Sunday.
Elghobashy and Abdelhady lost the first set 21-14 before the running the Brazilian pair of Ana Patricia and Duda Lisboa even closer in the second but eventually went down 21-19.
Next up for Egypt will be Italy on Tuesday before their final Pool A game against Spain on Thursday.
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
The specs
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Abu Dhabi GP weekend schedule
Friday
First practice, 1pm
Second practice, 5pm
Saturday
Final practice, 2pm
Qualifying, 5pm
Sunday
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps), 5.10pm
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
Zodi%20%26%20Tehu%3A%20Princes%20Of%20The%20Desert
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Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Mica
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TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
