Australian Open: Historic run over for Lebanon’s Hady Habib while relentless Novak Djokovic eyes more records

Hady Habib's historic run at the Australian Open is over after the Lebanese player was beaten in straight sets by Ugo Humbert on Wednesday.

Habib had become the first man from his country to win a Grand Slam main draw match when he defeated China's Bu Yunchaokete at the weekend.

He had already made history by coming through three qualifying-round matches to reach the main draw at Melbourne Park but Humbert proved a step too far, with the French 14th seed securing a confident 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory.

Habib's dream might be over but he can still look back in pride at his run Down Under. “I always had goals to play these big tournaments, but at times it seemed very far, I’m not going to lie,” the Texas-born 26-year-old said after beating Bu.

“I had some challenging moments in my career playing for a small country with limited financial help from the government.

“The energy that I felt on the court from the fans, it literally pushed me to get that win. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Novak Djokovic, looking to make it 11 titles in Melbourne, defeated Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria 6-1, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 to seal his spot in the third round.

It was the 37-year-old's 430th singles match at a major to claim sole ownership of most ever played, men or women, in the Open Era ahead of Roger Federer (429) and Serena Williams (423).

“I love this sport. I love competition,” Djokovic said when asked about the milestone after beating the 21-year-old.

“I try to give my best every single time. It's been over 20 years that I've been competing in Grand Slams at the highest level.

“Whether I win or lose, I will always leave my heart out on the court. I'm just blessed to be making another record.”

Clinching the title would also take him clear of Australia's Margaret Court and become the first player to 25 Grand Slam crowns.

Djokovic, who had new coach Andy Murray watching from the stands, now faces Czech 26th seed Tomas Machac next and is drawn to meet Spain's red-hot Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz dropped just five games in an ominous display to sprint into the third round where he will take on Portugal's Nuno Borges.

The third seed showed no mercy to Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka in a 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 rout in 81 minutes.

“The less time you spend on court in the Grand Slams, especially in the beginning, it is going to be better,” said Alcaraz, who is yet to go beyond the quarter-finals in Melbourne.

Sixth seed Casper Ruud was sent spinning out of the tournament after being beaten 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 by Czech teenager Jakub Mensik under the lights at Margaret Court Arena.

Ruud became the fourth top 10 seed to fall at the tournament following Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov.

In the women's draw, Olympic champion and last year's runner-up Zheng Qinwen was beaten 7-6, 6-3 by Laura Siegemund of Germany.

The fifth seed left the court looking like she was about to burst into tears while world No 97 Siegemund was beaming from ear to ear after a famous win.

“Maybe today is not my day,” Zheng, 22, said. “There's a lot of details in the important points. I didn't do the right choice.”

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka dropped her serve three times and faced 11 break points before overcoming Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-3, 7-5, rattling off the last five games in a row.

“She played incredible tennis today and it was a really tough one. I expected this tennis from her, I'm really glad I was able to win this match,” said Sabalenka, who beat Zheng in the 2024 final and tackles unseeded Dane Clara Tauson next.

The win kept the Belarusian world No 1 on course for a hat-trick of Australian Open titles, a feat last achieved 26 years ago by Martina Hingis.

Former world No 1 Naomi Osaka, the 2019 and 2021 champion in Australia but now unseeded, stormed back to defeat 20th seed Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Osaka called it a “little revenge” for defeat at the US Open in August to the Czech. Up next is Swiss Belinda Bencic, who returned to the tour late last year after giving birth to her daughter.

Third seed Coco Gauff made heavy weather of British battler Jodie Burrage before claiming a 6-3, 7-5 victory.

The 20-year-old American set up an intriguing duel against former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez for a place in the fourth round.

“It was tough. She was serving really well, so I was just trying to manage that, honestly,” said Gauff.

“She really stepped her level up in the middle of the second set so I was just trying to be offensive as much as I could.”

American seventh seed Jessica Pegula, beaten in the US Open final by Sabalenka last year, eased through 6-4, 6-2 against Belgium's Elise Mertens to set up a third-round clash with Serbia's Olga Danilovic.