Rubin's Pro Debut Draws Crowd; Loses At Winston-Salem Open

After three days of qualifying rounds, the main draw at the Winston-Salem Open got under way this weekend. Dozens of the world's top professional tennis players are competing for ATP tour points, and a total purse of $625,000. 

But on Sunday, it was a first round match featuring a youngster ranked No. 585 in the ATP rankings that drew the largest crowd.

Last night, Wake Forest University incoming freshman Noah Rubin played his first professional tour-level tennis match. The 18-year-old Rockville Centre, New York native earned a wild card into the Winston-Salem Open after winning the USTA Boys 18 and under National Championship in both singles and doubles earlier this month. Prior to those wins, Rubin made international news by capturing the Wimbledon boy's singles title at the All England Club in July.

Rubin faced off against former NCAA tennis champion, 23-year-old American Bradley Klahn in an exciting first-round evening match that began at 7:00 PM on the stadium court of the Wake Forest Tennis Center. After dropping a nervous first set 2-6, Rubin was able to gather himself before dominating the second set 6-0. There were several momentum shifts in the third set, and Rubin eventually served for the match at 5-4. Klahn, who is currently ranked number 116 in the world, broke Rubin's serve, and forced a tie-break which he eventually won 7-5.

At the press conference following the match, the teenager seemed to take the loss in stride.

You know there's are a few things obviously I could do better and hopefully—I mean it's good that I can do things better ‘cause I'm not at my peak, so I want to keep improving and definitely have more opportunities. I didn't capitalize on everything I wanted to obviously. I had some unforced errors that I gave away too easily, but you know, it happens so you learn from it.

Bradley Klahn will now face two-time Winston-Salem Open champion and Greensboro native John Isner in the second round on Tuesday.

The next stop for Noah Rubin is the U.S. Open in New York, where he won a wild card entry. While there he'll also participate in an exhibition match against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Johnny Mac Tennis Project benefit. After the U.S. Open Rubin returns to the Wake Forest University campus for classes which begin next week.