WHAT HAPPENED: For the better part of four hours, scarcely an inch separated two young Californians, Jenson Brooksby and Taylor Fritz—two of the 13 Americans that had advanced to the second round of the 2021 US Open—in a tense and topsy-turvy battle and mesmerizing contrast of styles to determine who would move on at his home major.
Brooksby, 20, the wildcard upstart ranked No. 99 in the world, emerged the victor, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 6-2, over the second-ranked American Fritz and advanced to the third round of the US Open for the first time.
The last day match on the Grandstand was a classic duel between offense and defense, talent and tenacity. Fritz, 23, is like the talented kid in class, the one with all the natural gifts. Brooksby, on the other hand, is the overachiever, the one who spends late nights studying and preparing in the library. On the tennis court, Fritz is all smooth strokes and easy power. Brooksby’s greatest talent may be between his ears, his ability to assess an opponent and put forth a dizzying defensive array of shots that befuddle and frustrate his opponent—even if it’s not always pretty.
The contest came down to a few key points. After two impossibly close tiebreak sets, Brooksby finally turned the tide deep in the third set. At four-all, Brooksby hit an awkward, even ugly, two-handed backhand slice drop shot, which Fritz answered with a sharply angled forehand crosscourt. The 20-year-old from Sacramento raced forward and nailed a line-drive, worm-burner around the net post, less than 12 inches high, for an astounding winner.
It was the kind of shot you might expect from a Federer or Kyrgios, but Jenson Brooksby is hardly in their league when it comes to showy shotmaking. No matter. The shot deflated Fritz. Brooksby served just his third ace of the match on set point and raced, energized, to the sideline with a two-sets-to-one lead. In a match that traded leads all night, Brooksby won four straight games, extending his advantage into the deciding fourth set.
Brooksby broke the match open in the final set, breaking the big-serving Fritz on consecutive outings for a commanding lead.
WHAT IT MEANS: After missing all of 2020 with a foot injury, Jenson Brooksby has emerged in a big way in 2021. He has broken into the Top 100, making it to the semifinals in Washington, DC, this summer as a 130th-ranked wildcard, defeating 15th-ranked Felix Auger-Aliassime en route. And the California kid, the 2018 USTA Boys’ National 18 champion, made the final at Newport on his grass-court debut.
Fritz, ranked No. 42, has proved he can play with the big boys: he extended Novak Djokovic to five sets at the Australian Open in January. But he has yet to have the big breakout on the big stage that many have expected of him.
MATCH POINT: Jessica Pegula, a fellow American on the women’s tour, has called Brooksby the "Sofia Kenin of the men’s tour,” and it’s not hard to see why. He makes the very most of his talents, stalks the court, pumps himself up at every opportunity, and hits unorthodox two-handed backhand slices, volleys, and even drop shots. The two look like they were separated at birth.
