Chucri grateful for 'western' face

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

American-based Lebanese tennis player Patrick Chucri, who gave Lebanon the only point in its Davis Cup tie against Indonesia over the weekend, said he was not targeted for abuse as he did not have a stereotypical Arab appearance, especially after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In the wake of the attacks, some Arab-Americans suffered abuse and taunts from people, who were furious over the brutal act which killed nearly 4,000 people.

Chucri, a 21-year-old from Beirut, did not however face any problems relating to the tragedy. Most Muslim Indonesians have been led to believe that all Arab people have certain facial characteristics and that all Arab-Americans are under siege as a result of Sept. 11, but Chucri dismissed such rumors.

"It was okay for me. First of all, I live mostly on my university campus, and most people know me already," he told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of his Davis Cup matches on Sunday.

"Secondly, I don't have (the stereotypical) Arab look. I have blue eyes. People (Americans) are very nice. It was fine," he said, adding that he had never heard of any case where a Lebanese suffered any abuse.

Chucri also holds a Belgium passport, which probably helps at customs checkpoints. He and his family moved to Belgium in 1984 when war in Lebanon broke out. They stayed there until 1992 before returning home.

Chucri, who is fluent in French, English and Arabic, has been in the United States for the past five years. He trained at the International Tennis Academy in Florida before moving to the University of Mississippi. He is now in his third year there, majoring in International Business.

"I want to be a businessman when I don't play tennis anymore. I want to be a coach. I can be relaxed for the rest of my life," he said.

Chucri seems to be reveling in campus life, even though he has a tough time juggling his studies and tennis, he said it was a nice life.

"It's very tough to keep up with everything, but playing a sport in college and having fun in college is a nice life," said Chucri, who added that he admires American Pete Sampras.

On court, Chucri, who actually resembles his idol, is a tough player with his powerful shots from the baseline. His array of skills proved effective in overcoming Indonesian Febi Widhiyanto.

Chucri, who made his Davis Cup debut against India last February, conceded that he was disappointed that his team lost to Indonesia. But he said as long as he played well, he was satisfied.

After his loss to Suwandi on the opening day of the contest, he said he was the kind of man who would see a match from two sides.

"I'm sad on one hand because we lost. But I'm happy on the other hand because I played well against Suwandi, who is (ranked) 300 in the world," he said.