‘We’re delighted the world’s best players are here,’ says Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open tournament director

DUBAI: Underarm serves, a questionable VAR call, fiery competition, and a rowdy crowd: Felix Auger-Aliassime’s 7-6 (7), 6-7 (4), 6-3 win over Alexander Bublik in the Dubai first round on Tuesday certainly had it all.

Auger-Aliassime needed two hours and 49 minutes and four match points to overcome the unpredictable Bublik, who was a finalist in Dubai last year and is renowned for his trick shots and unorthodox playing style.

The opening-set tiebreak was particularly contentious between the pair as Auger-Aliassime requested video replay on a point that was awarded to Bublik. The Kazakhstani had hit an overhead which Auger-Aliassime attempted to reach but claimed he was hindered by the ball boy, who was in his way.

“So if you hit the fence, is it replay?” questioned Bublik from the other side of the net.

Chair umpire Miriam Bley sided with Auger-Aliassime and decided the point should be replayed.

Bublik was not happy with the call but play resumed. It was 6-6 in the breaker and Bublik was on his second serve. Instead of taking a safe route at such a crucial stage in the match, Bublik hit a sneaky underarm serve, which caught Auger-Aliassime by surprise and went unreturned, awarding Bublik a set point.

Bublik gestured to the crowd to get louder, feeling vindicated after the VAR call.

But his triumph was short-lived as he soon double-faulted to gift Auger-Aliassime the set.

It was the Canadian’s turn to rally the crowd behind him, as he mocked Bublik’s celebration from earlier and pointed to his ear with a smirk on his face.

The match ultimately went the way of Auger-Aliassime, who now owns a tour-leading 13 victories so far this season, alongside Alex de Minaur and Jiri Lehecka.

“It was a good match. I think entertaining for the crowd, for both players. And some good tennis as well. Some crazy shots on both sides during the match. So, yeah, high quality,” Auger-Aliassime told Arab News after the win.

The Canadian, who will next face Portugal’s Nuno Borges in round two, improved his head-to-head against Bublik to 3-2 overall and despite being familiar with his opponent’s antics, Auger-Aliassime admits he was taken by surprise a few times during the clash.

“Well, it’s not common, so you forget. And then I got caught a few times,” said Auger-Aliassime.

“And then I was like, ‘alright, this is the last time I get caught. So, I need to stay on my toes and be ready.’ That’s the challenge with him. It’s different. But I welcome and accept every challenge. And it’s good things, you know.”

Auger-Aliassime is enjoying a strong start to 2025, having already lifted two trophies in Adelaide and Montpellier in these opening few weeks of the season.

Dubai is not a typical stop on his calendar but with Doha getting upgraded to the ATP 500 level, Auger-Aliassime said playing back-to-back 500s in the Gulf made for a convenient schedule.

The 24-year-old credits the hard work he has been putting in with his team for his form this season, and is thrilled to see it finally paying off.

Highly-touted from his teen years, Auger-Aliassime had a breakout campaign in 2022, where he peaked at No.6 in the world rankings.

The Canadian entered the scene at a time where the legendary trio of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were still around and he has played each of them at least once.

Now, Auger-Aliassime has to contend with a different dominant force in the shape of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who are both younger than him, and have been winning the majority of the big events on tour.

He explains the challenge he is currently up against in the men’s game.

“It’s different. Rafa, Roger, Novak were idols of mine growing up. These guys, I have a ton of respect for them and they’re unbelievable players, but they’re not my idols in a way,” he said, referring to Sinner and Alcaraz.

“They’re my rivals, my competitors, and they’re good guys too. So it’s good for the sport. That being said, I feel like obviously 18, 19, 20, I was in that group. You know, 22, six in the world and then had some difficulties.

“But it’s been interesting. It’s been interesting. I would have loved to keep on climbing the rankings, keep winning big tournaments. But I feel like as a person, these last two years taught me a lot, gave me a lot of important lessons that hopefully are going to serve me now in this next part of my career and in my future life as well.”

DUBAI: Life has been a whirlwind for Lebanese tennis player Hady Habib these past few months, but you would not know that by speaking to him, given his calm and collected demeanor.

The 26-year-old moved up the rankings from 320 to 166 in the world in the span of two months, and in the process made history as the first Lebanese in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam singles main draw match, at the Australian Open a few weeks ago.

When he reached the second round in Melbourne, he received an unexpected phone call from the president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun.

“I was actually at the gym. This was after I won my first round, and I get a call from this random number. They didn’t really tell me who was going to talk to you. Some guy from the presidential palace was like, ‘I have someone to talk to you,’ and then this guy congratulated me,” Habib told Arab News this week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

“He said ‘congrats’. I’m like, ‘sorry, who am I speaking to?’ He’s like, ‘this is the president.’

“I'm like, oh my God. I just had to pause for a moment just to let that sink in. I was like, thank you so much. It means a lot. It was really special to have him congratulate me, being the president of Lebanon. He’s also new as well. So I also congratulated him for being newly elected. It was a very cool moment.”

After Australia, Habib spent just two days at home with his family before travelling to Dubai for a one-week training block. He then went to Cairo to compete in the Davis Cup for Lebanon against Peru before accepting wildcards into the main draws of the ATP 500 tournaments in Doha and Dubai.

Competing at a Grand Slam and at these ATP events in the Middle East has allowed Habib to venture into new territory, sharing draws and locker rooms with the best tennis players on the planet. It has exposed him to a level of tennis he has been striving to reach, and to tournaments he had been dreaming of taking part in.

“It still feels new. I just need to let it sink in,” the Texas-born Lebanese said.

“It feels like you’ve been watching these tournaments growing up, and just seeing these guys play, and to be able to play in the same draw as them, like Novak (Djokovic) and all the players, it’s just a lot to sink in.

“I’m just really happy to be able to experience this level of tennis and to be around all these great players. Hopefully, I’ll get to that level. I'm working towards it.”

Habib lost his opening matches in Doha and Dubai, but considers this Middle East swing “a huge learning experience.”

His coach, Patricio Heras, has been encouraging him to keep things simple and stick to the fundamentals, even in the face of all these new challenges.

“I think that we need to be very open-minded to learning,” Heras told Arab News on Sunday.

“Not to focus on the things we don’t have yet, but on the things we can take from every match, from the players. All these players are new for us, so is being in these tournaments. We have to focus on learning and focusing on what they do good and try to imitate them, rather than think, ‘no, I don’t have this. No, no, let’s focus on the good things and be open-minded.”

The top tier of professional tennis can sometimes feel like an exclusive club that is difficult to break into.

Getting invited to compete in the ATP events in Doha and Dubai has given Habib a sneak peek into what he hopes will soon be his life on tour.

“Honestly, I feel like I’m the new guy here. I don’t really have any friends at this level. Everyone probably has their own circle and cult, so it’s difficult in a way because I’m trying to set up practices, and everyone’s already set,” Habib said.

“I end up hitting (with) my coach most of the time, but it’s a bit of a transition to get used to the new environment, the new players, and trying to get yourself in there in a way, trying to practice with them and stuff like that. It’s a learning experience. I’m trying to do the best I can to learn and try to eventually play these events as much as possible.”

Between winning a Challenger title in the very last week of tournaments in 2024, and his run to the Australian Open second round, as a qualifier, at the start of 2025, things have escalated quickly for Habib, who finds himself in search of new goals, now that his previous targets have been reached.

“One of my goals is to be in the top 100. Of course, that’s every tennis player’s dream, is to be able to be in that ranking, to play the main draw of the slams and get in all these big tournaments, but that’s my goal for now, to be in the top 100,” Habib said.

Heras has total belief in his charge’s potential, and says Habib’s professionalism is what sets him apart.

“He takes care of himself in a very professional way. He does the things he needs to do. He’s a very calm guy,” the Argentinian coach said.

“Sometimes it’s hard for him to explain what he’s going through and I think that sometimes it’s not good because he’s not expressing himself with me or with someone else. And he tries to manage everything by himself and it’s so tough to hold everything in. In some way he’s managing it and I think that is a really good part because it makes him a mature person.”

Heras added: “I think that, tennis-wise, he doesn’t have a ceiling. It’s everything in his mind and let’s see how far he can go. But I think that, tennis-wise, he has all the chances to be top 100, and even top 50, I would say. Not only because I trust him and I have confidence but because I can see from his practices, from the matches he’s playing during the tournaments. It’s really exciting.”