Over the course of five days of the 2019 US Open Qualifying Tournament, 128 men and 128 women will compete for 16 coveted spots in each US Open main draw.
This is the Qualies Quadrant, or four notable stories from each day around the grounds, and a daily notebook of whiparound coverage from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
American Brooksby a crowd favorite
Jenson Brooksby was one of two Americans to advance on Wednesday, joining Taylor Townsend in Friday's third and final qualifying round. He has now won all four of his qualifying sets, his latest victory coming via a 7-6, 7-6 decision over No. 27 seed Yuichi Sugita.
After dropping serve early in set two, Brooksby fought his way back before ultimately edging his Japanese opponent, 7-3, in the match-clinching tiebreak.
The 18-year-old from Sacramento, Calif., made his US Open main-draw debut in 2018, courtesy of a wild card he earned from winning the junior USTA National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Now playing what he called the best tennis of his career, Brooksby is one win away from parlaying a well-deserved 2019 qualifying wild card into a second consecutive main-draw appearance.
"It would mean even more than last year," he said of the opportunity. "Qualifying your way into the main draw here is definitely tougher than getting in through Kalamazoo."
Though he lost last year to Aussie John Millman (Roger Federer's eventual conqueror) in the men's opening round, Brooksby advanced to the semifinals of the boys' event. It was the last junior tournament of his career.
This summer, back-to-back USTA Pro Circuit titles helped make his case for a qualifying wild card. He dropped just one set in 10 combined matches at two ITF World Tennis Tour M25 events in Illinois, winning his second and third ITF titles of both 2019 and his career.
As an American on the US Open stage, Brooksby enjoyed a major boost from the New York crowd. He was even interviewed by ESPN's Brad Gilbert after the win, as part of the network's qualies coverage.
"I love that so many people come out to watch," he said, comparing the Court 7 fanfare to the smaller crowds he's experienced at Futures and Challengers events. "The support here is amazing."
Brooksby signed a National Letter of Intent with Baylor University in December and plans to begin his college career in Texas in January. In addition to the coaching from the Baylor staff—led head coach Brian Boland, the former head of men's tennis with USTA Player Development—Brooksby is looking forward to the social experience of college life.
For now, his focus is on his next opponent: Spain's Pedro Martinez, who took out American Tommy Paul on Wednesday. The unseeded Spaniard shares the same name as the former Boston Red Sox ace. In the shadows of the Mets' Citi FIeld, Brooksby will be hoping to match the success of the New York Yankees in sending Martinez home with a loss.
Cepelova charges into the last round
Not many players can say they're undefeated against one of the game's all-time greats, but Jana Cepelova can.
And after a convincing victory over No. 3 seed Irina-Camelia Begu—in a 6-3, 6-2 match between two former Top-50 players that easily could've been one for the main draw in past US Opens—she's one step closer to being back in the showpiece rounds of a Grand Slam.
"I played three times against Irina before, and I was a little bit confident because of this," she said after the match. "I’m really happy that I won because I played really well and, hopefully, I will play my next matches like that."
The Slovak, currently ranked world No.155, peaked at a WTA ranking of No. 50 in May of 2014. The 26-year-old was runner-up at the WTA Premier-level event in Charleston five years ago, where she shocked then-world No.1 Serena Williams in straight sets—the only time she's ever faced the American legend.
Since then, she's been plagued by a litany of injuries—a stress fracture in her rib, an elbow problem and a neck injury—but now fully healthy, she will face Aussie Jaimee Fourlis for a spot in her first Grand Slam main draw since the 2018 Australian Open.
"I'm really happy that I can be back here and compete. I’m trying to have fun in each match, and if I will be in the main draw, it would be really cool," Cepelova said. "Of course, it’s my target to be in the main draw, but we will see how it goes in the next match."
"I love that so many people come out to watch. The support here is amazing." - Jenson Brooksby
Former junior champ Kucova keeps plugging away
Elsewhere, another Slovak—a former junior champion in Flushing Meadows—moved one match closer to just her second main-draw appearance in the years since.
Kristina Kucova, winner of the 2007 US Open girls' singles title, battled for two hours and 15 minutes before recovering from a set down to see off Bibiane Schoofs of the Netherlands, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3.
"It was a very good first set from my side also, but I felt that there were still things I could improve on, which I corrected in the second and third sets," she said, munching on a banana after the match. "I improved my serve and it was very good."
From 3-1 up in the opening set, the 29-year-old lost four straight games to trail 5-3, and though she leveled at 5-5, a slow start in the ensuing tiebreak doomed her: she fell behind, 5-0, and lost the breaker, 7-1.
From there, however, the match proved all about the serve: Kucova dropped hers just once in the second set, and tallied the only hold for either player in the final set in a key eighth game, as she broke Schoofs five times.
Having played in seven other US Opens since winning the juniors, Kucova managed to qualify just once. She made her women's singles main draw debut in 2016, and No. 27 seed Tereza Martincova of the Czech Republic stands between her and a second.
"I love it here and the atmosphere is very special," she said, recalling her championship run with a smile. "I have the best memories from here. It's step by step, and match by match. I need to focus on every point, every game and try my best for the next match."
Chung continues comeback
A 2018 Australian Open semifinalist and a Top-20 player at the midway point of last season, Hyeon Chung is working his way back up the rankings following a back injury that sidelined him from mid-February to early August.
Seeded No. 29 in qualifying, he eased into the final play-in round with an efficient, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Italy's Stefano Napolitano. Dropping serve just once despite facing five break points, Chung broke the Italian five times on seven break points in the match.
The US Open is the 23-year-old South Korean's fourth tournament back, with a Challenger title in Chendu, China the early highlight of his comeback. He has not dropped more than three games in any of his four sets thus far in New York.
On Friday, he will take on the ninth-seeded Mikael Ymer as he looks to seal his fourth career US Open main-draw appearance. He reached the second round in each of his previous three showings, in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
