Noah Rubin’s “Behind The Racquet” • With • Marcos Baghdatis | Tennis 10sBalls

Editor’s note: 10sBalls thanks Noah Rubin for giving us permission to repost these great stories. We wish him and this endeavor the best of luck. Great seeing Noah wearing K-Swiss and playing Solinco Strings.

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“I left my house when I was 14 and went to an academy in Paris, without my parents, all alone. I was staying with a family that was hosting me. This was the most difficult thing that I ever did. I had patches where I didn’t see my parents for about 10 months. Not only did I leave my parents but also my childhood friends and people that I grew up with. The toughest thing was not being around the ones I loved. I wanted to be a professional tennis player more than anything and was willing to sacrifice it all for my dream. Andre Agassi was my idol and after watching him win a Grand Slam it became my dream to be on tour and win a slam. Leaving home and being alone in Paris helped me start to understand what it really takes to be a champion and the sacrifices that are needed to become a professional athlete. It definitely wasn’t easy for my coaches. They knew they had to work on more of my mental side. They pushed to keep me happy and keep me going in tough times, which my host family helped a lot with as well. That’s why I always say I was lucky to have these people around me in the tough times when you want to give up and don’t want to do it anymore. It’s hard as a young kid when you don’t understand things. These people were there to explain to me life itself and that I needed to keep pushing and driving towards my dream. Believing in myself was also very important. I needed self-discipline to work everyday and focus only on my dream without getting sidetracked. You have to find out what you really love. If it’s tennis, if it’s another sport or even school, it’s very important to love what you do to help continue your journey. I think people should always push to become a better person than who they were yesterday. If you live by this there is no way you won’t succeed. Nothing in life comes in a day, you have to build it over time. You have to live in the present and do everything slowly, step by step and just believe. I think the belief of “I can” is stronger and more important than any IQ.” @baghdatis_official

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You can follow Marcos Baghdatis on the links below:

Facebook | Marcos Baghdatis

Twitter | @marcosbaghdatis

Instagram | @baghdatis_official

You can check out more Behind The Racquet stories on the link below:

Facebook | Behind The Racquet

Twitter | @BehindTRacquet

Instagram | @behindtheracquet