‘Like he was playing an X Box game’

Merokean Noah Rubin faced off against former top-ranked player Roger Federer in the second round of the Australian Open on Jan. 17 at the Rod Laver Arena. Despite losing the match with final scores of 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (3), his mother, Melanie Rubin, said that it was surreal just to see her son on the same court as Federer.

“I felt like he was playing one of his X Box games where you choose your opponent,” Melanie said before making a joke about how much time he spends on the gaming system. “I swear he plays FIFA as much as he trains.”

Rubin could tell that her son was mesmerized walking out to a crowd of roughly 15,000 people, she told the Herald, and added that the closest audience he has had in size was at the Wimbledon Junior championship. At that tournament, he and his opponent were new to playing at such large arenas. “This time Noah was alone in the amazement,” she added.

In the first set of their match, Rubin and Federer were head-to-head until Federer won the last two games. The second set wasn’t in his favor, but Rubin pushed even harder in the third. He took a 3-0 lead before Federer came back and sealed the match with a 7-6 score.

Rubin said that her son has always been even-tempered in the court. “You couldn't tell if he was up or down by his expressions,” she said. “When he’s down he's sitting there strategizing. He doesn't waste time being angry or disappointed.

Rubin, a Special Education teacher at Covert Elementary School in Rockville Centre, lives with Noah and her daughter, Jessie Rubin, 25, in Merrick. Jessie works in the social media department of NBC Universal and is currently trying to get #Noahsark trending on Twitter as a fan slogan.

In 2011, Melanie was awarded “Tennis Parent of the Year” by the United States Tennis Association’s Eastern Section for her support of his tennis pursuits. “His dad and I would bring him on the court as soon as he could walk,” Melanie said. In an effort to balance her family’s financial priorities and Noah’s tennis pursuits, Melanie ran a tennis camp for eight years where he and Jessie could train for free.

As Noah started excelling on the tennis court, he began traveling to tournaments. According to Melanie, the Bellmore-Merrick school district was always accommodating to his schedule. However, it became harder for him to attend and by his sophomore year at Kennedy High School in Bellmore he had started continuing his studies online. “It was a tough decision to make, especially as an educator,” Melanie said, “but knew it was necessary for him to achieve his dreams.”

In 2014 Noah won the Wimbledon and U.S. Boys junior championships before starting his college education at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. “After freshman year he convinced me it was time to go pro,” Melanie said and added that he still has three years on his scholarship should he decide to go back.

This past year has shown an increasing amount of success among male American tennis players. Noah had his photo featured in a New York Times article on the subject. When asked why she thinks this trend is going on, Melanie said that the USTA and their player development program had fostered “a push and pull of comradeship and competition.” Whatever it may be, she said that she could not find the right words to describe how proud she is of her son.