Jenson Brooksby a great sign of resurgence for American men’s tennis



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Jenson Brooksby a great sign of resurgence for American men’s tennis

The last male American to win at the US Open was Andy Roddick in 2003. In fact, that’s the last grand slam trophy for any American male. It’s been almost two decades for American ATP tennis. But U.S. tennis fans had plenty of excitement for a new player on the scene, Jenson Brooksby.

Only 20 year-old, the Sacramento, CA native just gave world No.

1 and GOAT, Novak Djokovic, a scare at the U.S. Open, taking a set off him in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows. Although the Serbian bounced back to eek out the win, the 20-time slam champion had nothing but praise for his young opponent.

“We both gave our best.

I told him at the net that the bright future is ahead of him. He’s a great, great player,” Djokovic said during his on-court interview with ESPN commentator Brad Gilbert. Djokovic continued “America has a bright future in tennis, for sure!” Jenson Brooksby is new on the scene, but he’s established himself as part of a new crop of exciting nextgen stars making a name for themselves at this year’s U.S.

Open. Brooksy surprised the tennis community by reaching the final at the Tennis Hall of Fame this summer, which pushed him into the Top 100 for the first time. He also reached the semis at the CitiOpen in Washington, DC, where he avenged his loss to Anderson in Newport as well as defeated world No.

15 Felix Auger-Aliassime. In his fourth round matchup with Djokovic, Brooksby displayed flashes of brilliance, taking the first set in thrilling style, powering through to a 6-1 first set lead. Although Djoker stormed back, the intelligent play on display from the American flustered the Serbian for a while.

It was also an indication of the kind of future that represents American men’s tennis. "I really did have a lot of confidence in myself out there that I can beat him, I can beat anybody," Brooksby said afterwards, according to Yahoo!

Sports.

"He's 20. He's got plenty of time," Djokovic said aftewards. "He showed also, I think, mental maturity on the court. Stepped in, and considering the circumstances, his first Arthur Ashe Stadium match, against me, night session, I think he managed himself very well.

He was motivated and did his best. I have to congratulate him and say that I was impressed with his game, but also with his behavior. "Yeah, I think we're going to see a lot of him in the future. He has the means. Now, obviously a lot of things have to come together, but he has a bit of an unorthodox game, does a lot with the feel.

But he's smart. He knows how to win points."

From what we’ve seen from the 20-year-old talent, the future does indeed look bright for American men’s tennis.

Jenson Brooksby