Managing time between mid-terms, school work and a social life is hard enough. Marc Abdelnour had to juggle all three—and compete in the Davis Cup on behalf of his native country, Syria.
Abdelnour, the Owls’ all-time leader in career single victories, was selected to play in the Davis Cup, an international professional tournament. He left for Syria on Feb. 28to prepare.
“I am really happy that I can help my country [get] better,” said Abdelnour as he spoke about his opportunity to compete in the global event.
Growing up in Syria’s largest city of Aleppo, Marc adopted the game of tennis at the young age of 3. However, he did not seriously begin playing the game until he was 5 years old. That is when he met his coach,Fadi Bidan,and practically grew up with him.
“The head coach for the Davis Cup Syria team has been my coach from [around] 5 years old to 15,” said Abdelnour. “So I know him pretty well. At 15 I left Syria, but I kept coming back every summer and winter break and he was still my coach during these times.”
“He’s seen me constantly, he’s seen my progress, he knows my game. He’s pretty easy, and he knows how to coach me,” explained Abdelnour when referring to the chemistry between him and his lifelong coach.
There was no place he needed that coaching more than the Davis Cup bout versus Suk-Young Jeong of Korea.
“At first all my shots were short, and my movement was off,” said Albdelnour. “I wasn’t quick, because I was nervous. [On the] final set I was down 5-2, but saved the match point. I continuously believed [and] I never gave up. I had to come back and win the point for Syria.”
To be 21 years of age and have the weight of a whole country on your back is something very few can withstand.
“On the match point I focused more than usually,” said Abdelnour. “I was not going to miss.”
After conquering that obstacle, Abdelnour had to leap over yet another when he was faced with a difficult task. “At 5-4 I was down 40-love (0-40) and then I won every single point that game.”
“I knew in my head, I could do it,” confirmed Abdelnour.
Saving the match point extended the game and Syria’s hope for their first point at a Group II stage at the Davis Cup. With his coach’s support surrounding him, Marc was able to win the match in the third set with a 7-3 tiebreaker.
After graduating at the end of this semester, Marc plans to return to Syria and play professionally for two years.
“I’m going to play tournaments [professionally], and hopefully my ranking will get better, like pretty quick, that way I can play in the big tournaments,” quipped Abdelnour as he looked toward his future career. “Hopefully it will work out.”
Before he returns to Syria this summer, Abdelnour will compete in the Sun Belt Shootout tournament in Tennessee. FAU’s opening match in the tournament is against the University of South Alabama on April 2.
