Brooksby Rolls On In Washington
#NextGenATP American Jenson Brooksby’s strong breakthrough form continued on Friday at the Citi Open as the wild card eased past Australian John Millman 6-1, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals in Washington.
The 20-year-old, who is appearing in his first ATP 500 tournament this week, upset World No. 15 Felix Auger-Aliassime to record a career-best win in the quarter-finals. Brooksby backed this up against 11th seed Millman, dictating throughout as he won 88 per cent (21/24) of his first-service points to advance in 68 minutes.
”He is going to make you work hard but I know I am physical and I started really strongly in the first set,” Brooksby said. “I sort of lost focus at times in the second set but that is part of it. I was still able to stay positive throughout.
“Starting strong is my mentality. It means the preparation up to it [the match] is good. What I need to work on the most is when it gets later on in matches. It was harder today [with the heat], but I am in good shape.”
Brooksby is yet to drop a set this week having also defeated former World No. 5 Kevin Anderson and 16th seed Frances Tiafoe in Washington.
Jenson Brooksby is the sort of player I love to watch…lots of variety..high tennis IQ….great in defence..????
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) August 6, 2021
His slice and backhand volley are almost identical to Florián Mayer.#tennis @atptour
The World No. 130 has been on a roll this season, having won three ATP Challenger Tour titles earlier this year, holding a 23-3 record at this level. Brooksby enjoyed a dream run to the final (l. to Anderson) in Newport last month in his first ATP Tour event and will face either fellow #NextGenATP Jannik Sinner or countryman Steve Johnson in the last four in Washington.
Brooksby is in seventh place in the ATP Race To Milan and has now levelled his ATP Head2Head Series with Millman at 1-1. Their last meeting came at the 2018 US Open in a first-round clash when the American was No. 1229th in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Brooksby qualified for the American hard-court Grand Slam after winning the 2018 USTA Boys’ 18s National Championship .
The American made a fast start in the first set, stepping inside the baseline as he overpowered Millman with his explosive groundstrokes. Brooksby looked to hit his backhand down the line and closed out an impressive set when Millman fired a forehand wide.
[WATCH LIVE 1]
Brooksby continued to play impressively in the second set, as he demonstrated his defensive skills at various times to frustrate Millman. After racing into a 4-1 lead, Brooksby fended off a break point in the fifth game before closing out his victory by breaking Millan for the fifth time in the match. The 20-year-old will rise into the Top 100 next week.
Millman was aiming to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final of the season, having also advanced to the last eight at the BMW Open in Munich in May.