WHAT HAPPENED: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, the No. 3 seed, possesses fluid power and athleticism and a textbook arsenal of shots. Jenson Brooksby, a 6-foot-4 21-year-old from Sacramento CA, is a considerably more unorthodox player, one whose strokes and serve are unlikely to be taught—but which can be maddeningly effective.
The game of Brooksby, ranked No. 43 in the world and a former USTA Boys’ 18 champion, can unnerve more naturally gifted players.
Alcaraz is certainly more capable of explosive shotmaking, and he has a tendency to take risks. The Spaniard’s challenge especially in recent weeks has been to harness that power and not overhit. Brooksby produces far fewer fireworks off his racquet, but he is an expert at getting his opponents to go for too much and make errors.
On Saturday afternoon, Brooksby had little success bringing Alcaraz down to his level.
Early in the first set, Alcaraz hit a spectacular leaping overhead, earning oohs and ahhs from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd. But he blew a sitter at the net and a chance to break serve. With the score notched at two games all, Alcaraz suddenly shifted gears and began cracking winners from every part of the court. At one point, he faked a drop shot, only to drive a biting sliced forehand deep in the corner. Brooksby stood glued in no man’s land. Said John McEnroe, commentating for ESPN: “I think Brooksby just got his pants pulled down.”
Alcaraz riddled off a succession of flowing, muscular winners to take control of the set. The Spaniard finished off the set with an ace, his 19th winner, and then immediately broke the discombobulated American to begin the second set.
Alcaraz in full flight is a thing to behold.
The Spaniard was seemingly rolling to an easy victory at the beginning of the third set when Brooksby injected a dose of drama into the match. In a ridiculous exchange that saw Alcaraz scrambling all over the court and sending up a series of defensive lobs, the American stumbled awkardly to the court as he backpedaled to hit an overhead. Brooksby somehow managed to win the point, earning a standing ovation from the crowd. Suddenly galvanized, he broke Alcaraz’s serve two times in a row and took a surprising 3-0 lead in the set.
The drama was short-lived, however. Alcaraz buckled down and rattled off the next six games in a row to win going away, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. The No. 3 seed, who belted 44 winners to just 10 by Brooksby, will face either former US Open champion Marin Cilic or the Brit Daniel Evans in the Round of 16 on Monday.
Alcaraz ran so hard around the court that for the third match in a row he had to replace his sneaker mid-match. “I slide a lot as you can see. The shoes get broke a lot. I run a lot, I try to get all the balls,” he said on court after the win. “It’s normal for me.”
WHAT IT MEANS: Alcaraz, whose rise to No. 4 in the rankings has been meteoric over the last year, has been expected to challenge for majors, and perhaps even inherit the mantle from the Big Three, since his breakout performance at the 2021 US Open. Should he reach the semifinal at a Slam for the first time here, he could meet Rafael Nadal in a highly anticipated, all-Spanish generational encounter.
Last year at the Open, Brooksby became the youngest American to reach the fourth round since Andy Roddick in 2002.
Both players arrived in the third round having rolled through their previous matches without losing a set. Brooksby defeated Borna Coric, the winner of the Masters ATP 1000 event in Cincinnati (where he defeated Nadal among others), and surrendered his serve just once in six sets. Alcaraz was only slightly less impressive, losing serve a total of three times in two matches.
MATCH POINT: Alcaraz and Brooksby have both claimed the same Top 5 victim this year: Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. Of course, Alcaraz has also beaten Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev in the past six months (and in succession at the same tournament, the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid).
