Noah Rubin’s “Behind The Racquet” • With • Mikhail Youzhny | Tennis 10sBalls

Editor’s note: 10sBalls thanks Noah Rubin for giving us permission to repost these great stories. We wish him and this endeavor the best of luck. Great seeing Noah wearing K-Swiss and playing Solinco Strings.

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“It was 2002, two months before the finals of Davis Cup, I was 20, and my father died. This was the worst moment of my life, the toughest time I have gone through. My father was the one who pushed tennis into my life by bringing my family and I to stadiums to watch tennis when we could. He did whatever he could for us. Before my siblings and I knew anything about tennis, we were going matches. It was a huge surprise to my family and I, nobody was expecting it. We knew his health wasn’t great but no one was waiting for this. Two days before I played Chela in Davis Cup where we competed against Argentina in the finals. This was a big deal because we were already up 3-1 in the matchup when I played him. We were already talking about how we were going to the finals to play France, which was the first time Russia made it to the finals. After I lost my father everyone told me, including myself, to continue playing immediately. They said I had to continue with what I had now, this is what my father would’ve wanted, for me to keep on improving. I was playing well that year with good results in Madrid where I beat Andy Roddick. I continued the momentum even in the beginning of 2003, after I won the deciding point to give Russia their first Davis Cup title. I played a very good Australian Open by playing in the moment and knowing this was what my father would’ve wanted for me. After Australia I saw a dip in my results. Around February on I was really down on myself. This was a tough time, months after my father passed away and not having the good results to distract me. My body and mind just didn’t have much left in it, which resulted in many first and second round losses. My ranking dropped a lot which was a very tough period for me. Of course it helps when winning but no matter how the match is going he was always on my mind…” @youzhnyofficial

To continue reading the full story go to behindtheracquet.com (link in bio)

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