There were cheers and cries from the young talents of the ATP Tour during the opening day of the Australian Open as Noah Rubin rewrote the record books.
World No.335 Rubin received a wildcard into the tournament after winning a Challenger tournament in Charlottesville during the Australian Open Wild Card Challenge last year. In the first round, he faced a daunting prospect against French world No.18 Benoit Paire. The occasion didn’t faze Rubin on Monday as he stunned Paire 7-6(4),7-6(6),7-6(5).
The stunning victory produced by the 19-year-old has also sealed his name in the record books. Rubin is the first player ranked outside the top 300 to win a main draw match at the Australian Open since 1985. He is also the first player outside the top 300 to get a Grand Slam main draw win since the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.
Shortly after Rubin’s win, another shock triumph occurred for a youngster ranked outside the top 300. World No.311 Omar Jasika stunned Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko 6-4,3-6,6-0,6-4. Jasika is best known for winning the 2014 US Open Boys title. In the second round the 18-year-old will play either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Marcos Baghdatis.
Australia’s Nick Kyrgios required only 91 minutes to move past Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2, 7-5, 6-2. In typical Kyrgios fashion, the 20-year-old received a warning from the umpire during the second set due to a verbal obscenity. He also bizarrely sang some Katy Perry lyrics during one of his changeovers. Besides the momentary lapses in concentration during the second set, Kyrgios remained dominant throughout the match.
Despite being known as a showman in the sport, Kyrgios admitted after his match that he was suffering from nerves.
“I was actually very nervous coming out here,” Kyrgios said.
“Obviously I haven’t played a real match (this year before this). I played the Hopman Cup and had a great week there.
“Coming out here with the memories I have from last year, it was really special to get the win on my favourite court in the world.
“It was really special to come out and play in front of you fans again and get the win.”
The opening day of action in Melbourne also saw disappointment for young players. Britain’s Kyle Edmund lead by two sets and 3-1 before suffering a five set loss to Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur. Edmund was hampered by a leg injury as well as cramping during the later stages of the match. The Brit spoke of his frustration during following the loss.
“You can’t play full out because you lose confidence in your movement and when you do move you start to cramp up again,” he told reporters.
“It was the same situation I felt in Davis Cup where I couldn’t do anything.
“To beat these guys you have to be 100%. You can’t play with your body cramping. It’s frustrating.”
Finally, Borna Coric produced a below-par performance during his straight sets loss to Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The Croat produced 36 unforced errors and convert 0/7 break points, losing 6-2,6-2,6-3.
