NY’s Rubin to Headline U.S. Open Boys Junior Championship
Wimbledon Junior Champion and Long Island native Noah Rubin and 2013 U.S. Open Junior finalist Tornado Alicia Black will headline the top American juniors accepted into the main draw of the 2014 U.S. Open Junior Championships, set for Aug. 31-Sept. 7 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.
Rubin, the 18-year old product of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA), will once again be joined by world number two junior Stefan Kozlov of Pembroke Pines, Fla., who Rubin defeated in the first all-American Wimbledon Boys title match since 1977. The sixth-ranked Francis Tiafoe of College Park, Md. and 11th-ranked Michael Mmoh of Temple Hills, Md. are also entered into the boys’ main draw.
Black, a native of Boca Raton, Fla., who reached the U.S. Open Girls final last year as an unseeded wild card, returns to Flushing Meadows as the second-ranked American in the girls field, following world number two CiCi Bellis of Atherton, Calif.
The U.S. Open Boys Singles field includes 23 of the top 25 players in the ITF World Junior Rankings (age 18 and under), including world number one and French Open Junior Champion Andrey Rublev of Russia, and 2013 Wimbledon Boys Champion Gianluigi Quinzi of Italy. The Girls Singles field features 21 of the top 25 in the world rankings, including Wimbledon Junior Champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.
Americans filling out the Boys Main Draw are Wimbledon junior semifinalist and number 18 Taylor Fritz from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; number 25 Alex Rybakov from Coral Springs, Fla.; number 42 Logan Smith from Carlsbad, Calif.; number 47 Henrik Wiersholm from Kirkland, Wash.; and Jared Donaldson from Cumberland, R.I., whose number 333 ATP ranking leads all Americans.
Other Americans in the Girls Draw are number 29 Sofia Kenin from Pembroke Pines, Fla.; number 30 Usue Arconada from College Park, Md.; number 33 Dasha Ivanova from Beaverton, Ore.; and number 49 Michaela Gordon from Los Altos Hills, Calif.
Tommy Paul from Coconut Creek, Fla. and Katerina Stewart from Miami) are also in the main draw by virtue of earning wild cards as this year’s USTA 18s National Clay Court champions.
Dennis Uspensky from Atlantic Beach, N.Y. was accepted into Boys Qualifying Draw. Katrine Steffensen from Scarsdale, N.Y.; Kaitlyn McCarthy from Cary, N.C.; Raveena Kingsley from Parkton, Md.; and Jessica Ho from Wexford, Pa. were accepted into Girls Qualifying Draw.
Previous U.S. Open Girls Champions include Coco Vandeweghe (2008), Victoria Azarenka (2005), Marion Bartoli (2001), Lindsay Davenport (1992), Jennifer Capriati (1989) and Zina Garrison (1981).
Past U.S. Open Boys Champions include Jack Sock (2010), Andy Murray (2004), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2003), Andy Roddick (2000), Stefan Edberg (1983) and Pat Cash (1982).
