Noam Okun

Noam Okun (Template:Langx; born 16 April 1978) is an Israeli retired professional tennis player.

He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 95 in April 2002. Okun won several challenger tournaments in his career, and was a consistent competitor on the ATP tour, often qualifying for Grand Slam events.

He, Harel Levy, and Dudi Sela were Israel's top singles players for a number of years. Okun trained at the Israel Tennis Centers.

Early life

Okun was born in Haifa, Israel. His parents are Igor (who works for Israeli Electric Company) and Galit (an assistant to an orthopedic doctor), and he is Jewish.

Tennis career

Okun began playing tennis at age nine, and was selected to be part of the Israeli Tennis Federation program after a short course at school.

He turned pro in 1999, at the age of 21.

In 2000, Okun qualified for the Australian Open, where he lost to hometown favorite Mark Philippoussis in a five-set thriller, 4–6, 2–6, 6–2, 6–3, 2–6. This was Okun's grand slam debut.

In March 2002, Okun upset Albert Portas of Spain, ranked # 26 in the world, 7–6⁽⁴⁾, 6–4, in Scottsdale. In July 2002 he upset Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands, ranked # 23 in the world, 7–6⁽⁵⁾, 7–6⁽⁴⁾, in Los Angeles. Okun qualified into the 2002 US Open, and lost to world # 1 and defending champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, 6–7⁽⁷⁾, 4–6, 1–6 in the second round.

In August 2003 Okun upset Martin Verkerk of the Netherlands, ranked # 15 in the world, 3–6, 6–3, 6–1, in Cincinnati.

File:Noam okun 2.jpg

Noam Okun at 2004 U.S. Open

In August 2004, Okun won his first title in Binghamton, New York, beating Danai Udomchoke 6–3, 4–6, 6–1 for the title.

In June 2005, Okun qualified for Wimbledon, and lost to Gaël Monfils 6–3, 4–6, 4–6, 6–7⁽¹⁴⁾ in the first round. In September 2005, Okun qualified for the US Open and lost to Mariano Puerta 6–7⁽⁴⁾, 7–6⁽³⁾, 4–6, 0–6 in the first round.

In September 2006, Okun qualified for the US Open, and beat Potito Starace 6–2, 6–0, 4–6, 6–2 in the first round. Okun went down to Łukasz Kubot in the second round, 6–7⁽⁷⁾, 4–6, 6–2, 6–2, 4–6.

In July 2007, Okun won his second challenger title in Winnetka, Illinois, beating South Africa's Kevin Anderson 6–4, 6–3 in the final.

In February 2009 he won an Israel F2 tournament, and lost in the finals of an Israel F3 tournament to Harel Levy, by walkover. In August and September 2009, he won three tournaments—an Israel F4, F5 and F6 tournament.

In March 2015, he played in an Israel F3 tournament in Ramat HaSharon, Israel, and lost in the finals to Isak Arvidsson of Sweden.

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 18 (10–8)

Legend ATP Challenger (5–3) ITF Futures (5–5)

Finals by surface Hard (9–6) Clay (1–1) Grass (0–0) Carpet (0–1)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Template:Dts	Ireland F1, Dublin	Futures	Carpet	Template:Flagicon Michael Hill	6–4, 4–6, 3–6
Loss	0–2	Template:Dts	Greece F5, Athens	Futures	Clay	Template:Flagicon Lior Mor	4–6, 1–6
Loss	0–3	Template:Dts	Uzbekistan F2, Namangan	Futures	Hard	Template:Flagicon Oleg Ogorodov	3–6, 6–2, 3–6
Win	1–3	Template:Dts	Poland F1, Kraków	Futures	Clay	Template:Flagicon Bartlomiej Dabrowski	6–1, 7–6
Loss	1–4	Template:Dts	Tel Aviv, Israel	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Ctislav Doseděl	6–7, 3–6
Loss	1–5	Template:Dts	Chandigarh, India	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Dennis Van Scheppingen	3–6, 5–7
Win	2–5	Template:Dts	Jerusalem, Israel	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Michaël Llodra	6–4, 6–1
Win	3–5	Template:Dts	Andorra la Vella, Andorra	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Christian Vinck	6–2, 6–4
Win	4–5	Template:Dts	Tyler, United States	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Vince Spadea	7–5, 6–2
Win	5–5	Template:Dts	Binghamton, United States	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Danai Udomchoke	6–3, 4–6, 6–1
Loss	5–6	Template:Dts	Lubbock, United States	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Sam Querrey	1–6, 4–6
Win	6–6	Template:Dts	Winnetka, United States	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Kevin Anderson	6–4, 6–3
Win	7–6	Template:Dts	Israel F2, Eilat	Futures	Hard	Template:Flagicon Harel Levy	6–4, 6–4
Loss	7–7	Template:Dts	Israel F3, Eilat	Futures	Hard	Template:Flagicon Harel Levy	walkover
Win	8–7	Template:Dts	Israel F4, Ramat HaSharon	Futures	Hard	Template:Flagicon Mikal Statham	6–2, 6–1
Win	9–7	Template:Dts	Israel F5, Ramat HaSharon	Futures	Hard	Template:Flagicon Miloslav Mečíř	6–3, 6–2
Win	10–7	Template:Dts	Israel F6, Ramat HaSharon	Futures	Hard	Template:Flagicon Marcus Daniell	7–6(7–4), 6–2
Loss	10–8	Template:Dts	Israel F3, Ramat HaSharon	Futures	Hard	Template:Flagicon Isak Arvidsson	6–4, 3–6, 4–6

Doubles: 22 (11–11)

Legend ATP Challenger (9–7) ITF Futures (2–4)

Finals by surface Hard (9–11) Clay (1–0) Grass (0–0) Carpet (1–0)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Template:Dts	India F1, New Delhi	Futures	Hard	Template:Flagicon Jonathan Erlich	Template:Flagicon Lior Mor Template:Flagicon Jamie Delgado	6–7, 7–6, 7–6
Loss	1–1	Template:Dts	India F3, Indore	Futures	Hard	Template:Flagicon Jonathan Erlich	Template:Flagicon Ali Hamadeh Template:Flagicon Andrew Rueb	6–7, 4–6
Loss	1–2	Template:Dts	Tel Aviv, Israel	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Nir Welgreen	Template:Flagicon Radek Štěpánek Template:Flagicon Michal Tabara	6–7, 3–6
Win	2–2	Template:Dts	Ahmedabad, India	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Nir Welgreen	Template:Flagicon Noam Behr Template:Flagicon Eyal Ran	3–6, 6–0, 6–4
Win	3–2	Template:Dts	Budapest, Hungary	Challenger	Clay	Template:Flagicon Harel Levy	Template:Flagicon Daniel Fiala Template:Flagicon Leoš Friedl	6–4, 4–6, 6–2
Win	4–2	Template:Dts	São Paulo, Brazil	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon André Sá	Template:Flagicon Cedric Kauffmann Template:Flagicon Flávio Saretta	6–4, 1–6, 6–4
Win	5–2	Template:Dts	Kyoto, Japan	Challenger	Carpet	Template:Flagicon Noam Behr	Template:Flagicon Kelly Gullett Template:Flagicon Brandon Hawk	6–3, 7–5
Win	6–2	Template:Dts	Hamilton, New Zealand	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Noam Behr	Template:Flagicon Tuomas Ketola Template:Flagicon Filippo Messori	7–6(7–4), 6–4
Loss	6–3	Template:Dts	Jerusalem, Israel	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Noam Behr	Template:Flagicon Jonathan Erlich Template:Flagicon Michaël Llodra	5–7, 6–4, 6–7(2–7)
Win	7–3	Template:Dts	Córdoba, Spain	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Brandon Coupe	Template:Flagicon Juan Ignacio Carrasco Template:Flagicon Albert Portas	6–4, 1–6, 6–4
Win	8–3	Template:Dts	Tallahassee, United States	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Matías Boeker	Template:Flagicon Mark Hlawaty Template:Flagicon Brad Weston	6–7(3–7), 6–3, 6–4
Loss	8–4	Template:Dts	Bratislava, Slovakia	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Jonathan Erlich	Template:Flagicon Simon Aspelin Template:Flagicon Graydon Oliver	6–7(5–7), 3–6
Loss	8–5	Template:Dts	Aptos, United States	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Harel Levy	Template:Flagicon Nathan Healey Template:Flagicon Eric Taino	5–7, 6–7(4–7)
Win	9–5	Template:Dts	Istanbul, Turkey	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Harel Levy	Template:Flagicon David Škoch Template:Flagicon Martin Štěpánek	6–4, 7–5
Loss	9–6	Template:Dts	Durban, South Africa	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Stéphane Bohli	Template:Flagicon Rik de Voest Template:Flagicon Dominik Meffert	4–6, 2–6
Loss	9–7	Template:Dts	Lanzarote, Spain	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Dudi Sela	Template:Flagicon Rik de Voest Template:Flagicon Luke Bourgeois	3–6, 1–6
Win	10–7	Template:Dts	Aptos, United States	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Amir Weintraub	Template:Flagicon Todd Widom Template:Flagicon Michael Yani	6–2, 6–1
Loss	10–8	Template:Dts	Donetsk, Ukraine	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Harel Levy	Template:Flagicon Xavier Malisse Template:Flagicon Dick Norman	6–4, 1–6, [11–13]
Win	11–8	Template:Dts	Israel F2, Eilat	Futures	Hard	Template:Flagicon Harel Levy	Template:Flagicon Tim Van Terheijden Template:Flagicon Jürgen Zopp	6–3, 6–0
Loss	11–9	Template:Dts	Israel F8, Ramat HaSharon	Futures	Hard	Template:Flagicon Noam Behr	Template:Flagicon Ti Chen Template:Flagicon Marcus Daniell	6–7(1–7) ret.
Loss	11–10	Template:Dts	Israel F9, Ramat HaSharon	Futures	Hard	Template:Flagicon Aviv Ben Shabat	Template:Flagicon Ti Chen Template:Flagicon Marcus Daniell	0–6, 2–6
Loss	11–11	Template:Dts	Israel F14, Ramat HaSharon	Futures	Hard	Template:Flagicon Noam Behr	Template:Flagicon Gabor Borsos Template:Flagicon Ádám Kellner	4–6, 6–7(7–9)

Performance timeline

Singles

Tournament	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	SR	W–L	Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	A	1R	Q3	1R	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q1	Q1	Q2	A	Q2	0 / 2	0–2	Template:Tennis win percentage
French Open	Q1	A	Q2	A	Q2	Q1	Q3	Q2	Q1	Q2	A	A	0 / 0	0–0	Template:Tennis win percentage
Wimbledon	A	A	Q2	1R	Q3	A	1R	Q3	Q1	A	A	Q1	0 / 2	0–2	Template:Tennis win percentage
US Open	Q3	A	Q3	2R	Q2	Q2	Q3	2R	Q1	A	A	Q3	0 / 2	2–2	Template:Tennis win percentage
Win–loss	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–3	0–0	0–0	0–1	1–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0 / 6	2–6	Template:Tennis win percentage
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters	A	A	A	A	A	A	Q2	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 0	0–0	Template:Tennis win percentage
Miami Open	A	A	A	Q2	A	A	Q1	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 0	0–0	Template:Tennis win percentage
Canada Masters	A	A	A	Q2	Q1	Q2	1R	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 1	0–1	Template:Tennis win percentage
Cincinnati Masters	A	A	A	1R	2R	Q2	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 2	1–2	Template:Tennis win percentage
Shanghai Masters	Not Held										Q2	A	0 / 0	0–0	Template:Tennis win percentage
Win–loss	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	1–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0 / 3	1–3	Template:Tennis win percentage

Davis Cup

Okun was a major force on the Israeli Davis Cup team, playing for it in 1999 and since 2001, going 17–16, and winning both of his matches in Israel's 2006 3–2 victory over Great Britain. His Davis Cup record also includes big wins in live rubbers over Wayne Ferreira, Jarkko Nieminen, and Andreas Seppi.

See also

• List of select Jewish tennis players

External links

• Template:ATP
• Template:ITF
• Template:First word Template:PAGENAMEBASE at the Davis CupTemplate:EditAtWikidata
• Jews in Sports bio