Benjamin Hassan: A Rising Star on the ATP Tour

Reached in Madrid Benjamin Hassan qualified for the main draw at an ATP Masters event for the first time. Neuwied learned about the new double regulation almost casually and caused a sensation.

by Dietmar Kaspar

last edited: May 3, 2024, 12:23 a.m

© Jürgen Hasenkopf

Benjamin Hassan brings a breath of fresh air to the big ATP tour.

The constant change of the country flag in various player profiles of Benjamin Hassan over the last two years gave the attentive follower of the tennis scene an idea that the 29-year-old must have had a very special vita. The Merzig native was flown under the German flag for many years before it was replaced by the Lebanese flag for more than a year from the late summer of 2022.

The professional from Neuwied cited “arbitrary actions” by the global players’ association as the reason for the change of nationality in his ATP profile. Hassan, who has German and Lebanese citizenship as well, has represented his parents’ home country in the Davis Cup for several years. The ATP therefore took this as an opportunity to automatically classify him according to the nationality of his Davis Cup affiliation. After more than 12 months of struggle with numerous communication channels, it has been flying the German flag again since the end of last season.

In terms of sport, Hassan’s career did not follow the path of a tennis professional. He actually enrolled in university so that he could actually pursue this profession after completing his teaching degree. At the same time, he wanted to pursue tennis a little more ambitiously and mainly worked at the German Future tournaments. In 2017, in his native Rhineland-Palatinate, he received a wildcard for the Challenger tournament in Koblenz, where he gave the former top 50 player Gabashvili a big fight and was narrowly defeated in three sets. From then on it was clear to him that he wanted to try being a professional tennis player more seriously.

Thanks to more successful results on the ITF World Tennis Tour, Hassan has established himself on the ATP Challenger Tour over the years and worked his way into the top 150 for the first time at the end of last year, being rewarded with his first Grand Slam participation in qualifying at the Australian Open. At the current Masters event in Madrid, he slipped into the qualifying competition as an alternate and made it into the main draw with successes against the American Emilio Nava and the former junior Wimbledon winner Shintaro Mochizuki from Japan.

When he arrived in the main competition, his opponent was Borna Coric, who had already won a Masters title and was ranked 12th in the ATP rankings. There, too, Hassan got off to a furious start and won the first set in the tiebreak before he had to admit defeat to the Croatian in three sets after a great fight. When the Madrid adventure seemed to be over, the world number 159 found out. from doubles specialist Tim Pütz at 8 p.m. that he still had two hours to register for the doubles competition. Due to the new rule, “he would definitely get in with his ranking if he just looked for another player.”

Said and done. With the young Jordanian Abdullah Shelbayh, who has been training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor for many years, he started the venture in the main field of the doubles competition and with his partner defeated the fourth-seeded doubles Dodig/Krajicek in two sets, before the final stop was against the equally experienced Murray/Venus pairing. How humble Hassan continues to be, despite all the joy over the coup, was shown in an interview on Sky television, where he almost apologized for the fact that as a single player he had “taken away” the place from an established doubles player due to the new regulations.

Hassan also showed externally in Madrid that there is still a lot of room for improvement in terms of marketing with his playing potential. In social media posts, he was “celebrated as a real guy” as he presented himself from head to toe in a true brand of versatility during on-court matches. With his down-to-earth manner and his attractive, variable game, he is an absolute asset to events on the biggest stage. If the 29-year-old continues on his path, this shouldn’t go unnoticed by one or two outfitters.

Here is the double tableau from Madrid

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Coric Borna Hassan Benjamin
2024-05-03 07:55:00
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