WHAT HAPPENED: Nikoloz Basilashvili rallied from a set down to outlast 18-year-old American qualifier Jenson Brooksby, 3-6, 7-6, 7-5, 6-2, on Day 4 at the US Open. The 27-year-old Georgian, who reached the Round of 16 in New York last year before falling to Rafael Nadal in a thrilling four-setter, found himself on the brink early in the contest. Basilashvili littered up the scoresheet in the first two sets and found himself in a hole, with Brooksby serving for a two-sets-to-love lead, at 5-4 in the second set.
Basilashvili could not find the court early on. He committed 37 errors in those first two sets, but he came up with a clutch break under pressure in the tenth game of the second set, converting his third break point, at 5-5, before going on to level the match at a set apiece.
From there, the more experienced and more accomplished player set the tone and tempo of play.
The third set was a back-and-forth struggle that featured seven breaks of serve, but again it was Basilashvili who had the answers to all the key questions, and as Brooksby began to suffer from a right elbow injury the world No.18 tapped the accelerator and pulled away.
As Brooksby sought the attention of a trainer to work on his elbow at changeovers, Basilashvili methodically marched to the finish line to book his sixth appearance in the third round of a Grand Slam.
WHAT IT MEANS: Brooksby learned a lot by qualifying for the 2019 US Open and playing his first two Grand Slam main-draw matches. So much, in fact, that college just might have to wait.
Brooksby has enrolled at Baylor University, starting in January, but if he follows through on that promise he’ll have to forego all of the $100,000 in prize money he has already earned for his first-round victory over Tomas Berdych at the US Open. Brooksby entered the tournament ranked No. 394 in the world, but he will leave inside the ATP's Top 250. A tough decision awaits the Sacramento, California native.
MATCH POINT: Basilashvili bounced back brilliantly from a rough start against Brooksby, but he'll need to clean up his game going forward. The Georgian committed 71 unforced errors in today's match, for a total of 143 unforced errors through two rounds of tournament play.
