The first match between Lebanon and Japan in the Davis Cup will kick off tomorrow, Friday, February 2, at 11:00 AM Beirut time, on the main court of the "Smash Sporting Club" in Cairo, Egypt, which has a clay surface. The winner of this match will advance to the World Group I, while the loser will drop to the World Group II.
The draw for the matches was conducted today, Thursday, in the presence of the International Tennis Federation representative, Chief Umpire Maria Cristina Barbarano from Italy, and members of the Lebanese delegation, including team director Johnny Abdallah, national coach Fadi Youssef, physiotherapist Lara Maawad, and players Benjamin Hassan, Hadi Habib, Hassan Ibrahim, and Fadi Bidan, along with event organizer Luis Baz and members of the Japanese delegation.
Two matches will be played on Friday as follows:
- 11:00 AM - Singles: Lebanese Hadi Habib (born August 21, 1998, ranked 301 in the world and ranked 2 in the Lebanese team) vs. Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (born September 27, 1995, ranked 61 in the world and ranked 1 in his team).
- The second singles match will follow between Lebanese Benjamin Hassan (born February 4, 1995, ranked 149 in the world and ranked 1 in his team) and Japanese Yosuke Watanuki (born April 12, 1998, ranked 102 in the world and ranked 2 in the Japanese team).
The schedule for Saturday matches will begin at 10:00 AM as follows:
- 10:00 AM - Doubles: Lebanese Hassan Ibrahim (born August 17, 1995, unranked) and compatriot Fadi Bidan (born January 1, 2006, ranked 1589 in the world) vs. Japanese Shintaro Mochizuki (born June 2, 2003, ranked 136 in the world) and Kaito Oizumi (born June 2, 1995, ranked 1147 in the world).
- This will be followed by a singles match between Lebanese Benjamin Hassan (ranked 1 in his team) and Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (ranked 1 in his team).
- The fifth and final match will involve Lebanese Hadi Habib (ranked 2 in his team) and Japanese Yosuke Watanuki (ranked 2 in his team).
It is noted that the team that wins three out of five matches wins the tie and qualifies for World Group I. In this context, the President of the Lebanese Tennis Federation, Oliver Faisal, joined the delegation on Thursday to support the Lebanese players.
