Sachia Vickery of Miramar, Fla., and Noah Rubin of Rockville Centre, N.Y., started 2012 in fine fashion on Jan. 8, capturing the year’s first singles titles on the ITF World Junior Circuit, winning all-American finals at the prestigious 48th Copa Del Café in San Jose, Costa Rica.
No. 5-seeded Vickery, 16, didn’t drop a single set en route to the final, where she beat No. 3 seed Christina Makarova of San Diego 7-5, 6-1. Vickery was coming off a semifinals appearance at the Orange Bowl.
The unseeded Rubin, 15, upset the No. 2 seed in the first round and the No. 4 seed in the semis before beating No. 5 Connor Farren of Hillsborough, Calif., 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, in the final. The win is Rubin’s first in ITF competition (he also won the 16s at the 2011 USTA International Spring Championships).
The victories propel both Vickery and Rubin to career-high rankings on the ITF World Junior Circuit; Vickery moves up to No. 31, while Rubin jumps 60 spots to No. 41.
The last American to win at the Grade 1 hard court event was Madison Keys in 2009. Keys will make her Australian Open debut next week after winning a USTA Playoff in December to earn a main-draw wildcard.
