Local Noah Rubin Shocks Number Three Seed at French Open Juniors to Advance to Quarterfinals

June 6, 2012 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff

Court 14 was the scene this morning at Roland Garros as Noah Rubin of Long Island took to the court for the third round of the 2012 Boys French Open Junior Singles Championships. The weather outside was windy, cold and drizzling at times, and the16-year-old Noah came in as the underdog against 18-year-old and third-seeded Liam Brody of Great Britain. Rubin could’ve succumb to an attitude of "happy to get this far" like many would in his position, or he could’ve succumbed to the pressure of the moment … but that’s not Noah’s way. His mental toughness is the backbone to his game, and today, it came in handy once again.

Noah’s traveling coaching team in France of Eric Rubin (father/coach) along with Lawrence Kleger (executive director of tennis at Sportime) and Nicolas Todero (USTA) laid out a game plan prior to the match for Noah. According to Eric Rubin after the match, "Noah came out incredibly calm and focused. He executed the game plan impeccably right from the start. He served extremely well in both choice and execution of serve type at the appropriate times. Noah’s return game was exceptional, as he came up with key service winners on big points."

This all led to Noah taking the first set 6-2 and putting the third-seeded Brody on his heels, as the pressure had shifted.

In the second set, Rubin started strong and took an early lead, but then seemed to begin to play a little less aggressively which allowed Brody back into the second set briefly.

"He [Noah] quickly returned to his aggressive probing strategy, in closing out the match aggressively," said Eric Rubin.

Noah took the second set 6-3, earning him a straight set win and a trip to the Junior French Open Quarterfinals. Looking back on today’s performance, Eric concluded, "The coaching team is just thrilled at Noah’s performance. We couldn’t have asked for more."

In the quarterfinals, Noah will face the number five seed, Filip Peliwo of Canada.


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Centercourt
USTA NTC

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