SPORTS

JFK grad reaches U.S. Open semifinal

Posted

Scott Lipsky, formerly of Merrick and now of Irvine, Calif., and his doubles tennis partner Rajeev Ram were doing fine in this year’s U.S. Open until the semifinals, when they ran into the buzz saw that is Bob and Mike Bryan.

Lipsky and Ram were unable to halt the march of the Bryan brothers — already the most winning men’s doubles pair in the Open era — toward a 16th Grand Slam title and 100th overall title. They did, however, manage to take a set off the Bryans, a sign of their impressive play throughout the tournament.

The match unfolded 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world’s biggest tennis stage, in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. It was not exactly new turf for Lipsky — in 2000 he warmed up Jennifer Capriati, then one of the world’s top female tennis players, on the court, and his first trips to the U.S. Open were as a spectator while growing up in Merrick — but it was the first time the doubles tennis veteran played a match at Arthur Ashe or made it to the Open’s semifinals round, according to usopen.org.

Lipsky, 33, attended Birch School, Merrick Avenue Middle School and Kennedy High School, graduating in 1999. By the time he entered his freshman year at Kennedy, he was already a nationally and internationally ranked tennis player. Unlike most such teens, Lipsky played all four years on his high school team, losing just one match as a Kennedy Cougar.

He went on to become a star tennis player at Stanford University and then a full-time professional tennis player. His career high point so far was winning the 2011 French Open mixed doubles tournament.