ATP Antwerp: Here comes Jenson - Brooksby also a hit in Europe!
US youngster Jenson Brooksby has made it to the quarter-finals at the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Antwerp. Brooksby defeated US Open surprise man Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Oct 20, 2021, 06:24 pm
While the headlines on Tuesday in Antwerp were still about Frances Tiafoe and his epic (and ultimately unsuccessful) fight against Andy Murray , Jenson Brooksby won his place in the quarter-finals in Antwerp quite quietly and calmly. Brooksby defeated Botic van de Zandschulp, surprisingly in the last eight at the US Open, in just 63 minutes 6: 2 and 6: 0 and will play against the winner of the game between Cristian Garin and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Friday.
For Brooksby, the appearance in Antwerp is the first on European soil since the beginning of February: The 20-year-old played in an ITF 25k tournament and clearly lost to Gastao Elias in the semifinals. Back then as number 314 in the world. Brooksby has now climbed to position 70 in the ATP charts and has at least reached the final of an ATP Tour 500 event in Washington (but lost to Jannik Sinner there).
Brooksby beats Opelaka
In the meantime, Jenson Brooksby has also given his business card to Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev . The youngster took one set each from both, but on both occasions in New York City and Indian Wells Brooksby (still) pulled away as a loser.
In Antwerp, the chances of the next top result are not bad. This is what Twitter oracle Brad Gilbert noted. The fast underground would benefit the return specialist Brooksby, Gilbert analyzed from a distance. And the mark-up, which was identified as a weak point, does not at least mean a huge mortgage in Antwerp. What Brooksby had not only shown in round one against his compatriot Reilly Opelka , who was placed fifth, but also in his two qualifying games.