Andrei Duarte holds the record for most dual match doubles wins in a single season in Georgia State men's tennis program history, but in addition to his tennis success the Georgia native has a passion for another outdoor sport - golf. This week we caught up with the senior about his favorite pastime.
Duarte first played golf as a kid, but he had to choose between playing tennis and golf. He chose tennis due to the faster paced nature of the game.
"Yes I had to choose between tennis and golf. I chose tennis because of the nature of the sport," said Duarte. "It is a lot more fast paced. The choice was pretty easy at the time. My mentality and energy levels were just more geared towards tennis."
With his attention focused on tennis, Duarte did not play or think much about golf again until he attended a golf tournament his junior year of high school. The event reignited his passion for the game. He asked for assistance to improve his game. Since then, he has been playing whenever he gets the chance.
Although the competitor in Duarte enjoys seeing his improvement on the golf course, his favorite aspect of the game is getting to spend four hours with his friends and old tennis coaches, who all play the game with him. Duarte notes that there is something special about spending time with your favorite people with no real care in the world.
Golf does not only provide a fun escape for Duarte, but he believes his love of golf has helped fuel his love of tennis by giving him another outlet. He encourages everyone to find something that they enjoy doing and to pursue it, emphasizing the value of hobbies.
"Since tennis takes up so much of my time, golf is a great outlet," said Duarte. "It takes my mind off what may be going on in my life. As much as it may just seem like a game, it has been extremely beneficial to my mental health and keeps my love for tennis going."
The vocal leader of the tennis team has shared his passion for golf with his teammates. Last year, Duarte created an Instagram account to share golf trick shot videos that he made with his teammate and roommate Roberts Grinvalds in their apartment. Many of the other Panthers have attempted to help Duarte and Grinvalds come up with and execute cool trick shots. The pastime proved to be an excellent source of team bonding during last year's quarantine.
"It has been super fun to mess around and try to do cool stuff," said Duarte. "During quarantine Vazha Shubladze and I stayed up trying to get one trick shot. We started at 10:00 p.m. and went to bed unsuccessfully around 4:00 a.m."
Duarte and the Panthers will look to extend their four-game winning streak when they return to the tennis courts to meet Presbyterian Friday afternoon.
Follow Georgia State men's tennis on Twitter and Instagram (@GSUMTennis) for the latest news and notes.
