Young American Noah Rubin makes impression on Roger Federer

MELBOURNE — What makes tennis so interesting is that two players from differing circumstances often take away their own personal perception of the same match.

A perfect example of that would be the Australian Open second round match between superstar Roger Federer and qualifier Noah Rubin that took place on a chilly Wednesday afternoon in Melbourne.

As expected, Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, pulled off a less-than-perfect 7-5, 6-3 7-6 (3) win that is unlikely to stay in his memory bank for long. In contrast, the newcomer Rubin walked away having put forth a more than credible performance in a match he will remember for a lifetime.

For the 35-year-old Federer, currently ranked a low 17th after being sidelined the past six months nursing a knee injury, the match admittedly presented challenges. For the 20-year-old Rubin, ranked 200th and looking to find his place within the game, the match was an opportunity to play his boyhood hero.

“There’s something about him,” admitted Rubin, smiling. “You just look and say, ‘Wow, okay, that’s Roger Federer.’ A couple of times in the first set I just took a peek over to the other side.”

“I told him at the end of the match it was an honor to be out there with him because no matter what the outcome is, if he’s not the greatest he’s top two,” Rubin added. “He thanked me and said, ‘great match.’”

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Rubin’s statement might suggest he was starstruck during the just over two-hour encounter, but that was not at all the case. He was surprisingly composed considering it was his first time on a major stage such as Rod Laver Arena against an all-time great.

The Long Island native, who is now 2-3 in Grand Slam main draw matches played, had two set points on Federer’s serve at 5-2 in the third set, and served for that set at 5-3, before the possibilities escaped his grasp.

Rubin should’ve had ownership of the third set. Rubin knew it. Even Federer intimated so.

“It was a difficult first set,” Federer said. “Tricky third set, of course. I had to save a couple of set points. I know it could have gone different.”

The outcome of the failed third set irked Rubin — he had chances and let it go — something he hopes experience will counter in the future.

“I’m actually pretty disappointed,” Rubin said. “My coaches say that’s a good thing. I came out of the match thinking what it would be like to be in a fourth set. My body felt pretty good out there. I liked my chances competing-wise against him, and I thought it would be a lot of fun to be out there against him for another set.”

Rubin, however, is an astute student of the game and was not at a loss for what happened. Although Federer is rusty from the lack of play, the titan of tennis is a genius turning things to his own favor.

“He’s going to play the way he wants to play and there’s very few people who can take him out of his game,” Rubin said. “He knows it’s going to come.”

Federer was just the latest in a list of current top players that Rubin, still predominantly a Challenger-level competitor, has either practiced with or played in an exhibition.

“Murray doesn’t miss a ball, Fed is Fed, Djokovic is a machine and Wawrinka, you can’t see the ball when he hits it, so pick a poison,” said Rubin, analyzing the best in the business.

Federer was highly complimentary of Rubin, making note that despite the New Yorker’s diminutive stature, he has a surprisingly tough serve, especially second serve, and was fleet of foot on the court.

“I was very impressed by Noah,” Federer said. “I thought he played really well. I feel like he’s going to have a great, consistent career. The question now is how far can he go. It’s so hard to tell with these youngsters because they just need time to mature and get used to the tour.”

Rubin is the confident sort, although not at all cocky. In that regard he didn’t shy away from concurring with Federer’s opinion.

“I think I have a lot to offer to this game and I really enjoy being out there,” Rubin said. “Hopefully my speed can make up for my height because I have none of that as you can see.”

Meanwhile back at home where a large group of Rubin’s family and friends stayed up to watch the match in the middle of the night, his sister, Jessie, who works in social media, is looking towards the future. She’s working to brand her baby brother’s fans in a similar fashion to the Bryan brothers’ Bryan’s Bunch and Genie Bouchard’s Genie’s Army.

“My sister is trying to get this Noah’s Ark thing going,” he said, smiling. “We’ll see how far that goes.”

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