Noah Rubin had a look of satisfaction etched across his face after an impressive week at Wimbledon.
Facing two higher-ranked players in the first three rounds had certainly not left him overawed. If anything it inspired him, as did the atmosphere on Court 4 when he beat British favourite Jamie Malik.
Rubin said: "I had a couple of close matches last year against two top British kids. Today I wanted to come out and do what I had to do and it was in my favour this time.
"I thought I played well. Malik's a very good player and I kept focused at all times.
"On grass you can't play defensively so I played aggressive and knew how to step up at the right moments and not give away any free points and just keep calm the whole time."
The improvement in Rubin's game was evident and he served just one double-fault in his second-round win over 12th seed Kamil Majchrzak.
"In previous years, the grass was never the problem," he said. "It was the atmosphere. It was being at Wimbledon, the tradition it's one of the most prestigious tournaments and when you step out here it really is a completely different feeling than any other tournament.
"It's one of those atmospheres you can't compare to any other tournaments. So I tried not to think about the people behind me, to focus and just play my tennis.
"It's tough being on grass, sometimes you have to slide on it. Sometimes you can't you just have to go out there and see how it goes and adapt."
Rubin describes David Ferrer as his favourite player, "because he's also short". He said: "I look at him and that's where I need to be physically and mentally, always out there working his way through the rounds."
The teenager from Long Island believes the face of tennis is changing so he is planning to combine sport and education. "I'm going to college for a year," he said. "You can play seven pro tournaments which fit into the schedule.
"The top players are older now - the McEnroe/Becker era has changed. There are no more Nadal's coming in at 17-years-old and winning grand slams. So I think a year at college can only be a positive thing. A safety net almost."
Religion has also played an important part in his life. "I am proud to represent the Jewish nation. It's a nice added aspect of who I am."
Results
Ladies singles
Rd 2 – Alison Riske (USA) beat Camila Giorgi (Ita) 7-5, 6-2
Men's Doubles Rd 1 –Julien Benneteau (Fra) and Edouard Roger-Vasselin (Fra) (4) beat Jonathan Erlich (Isr) and Daniele Bracciali (Ita) 6-3, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Leander Paes (Ind) and Radek Stepanek (Cze) (5) beat Scott Lipsky (USA) & Santiago Gonzalez (Mex) 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 11-9
Boys singles
Rd 2 – Noah Rubin (USA) beat Kamil Majchrzak (Pol) 6-3, 7-5
Rd 1 - Noah Rubin (USA) beat Jamie Malik (GBR) 6-2, 6-4
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