“All the way from qualifying, match point down,” Brooksby said to his team during the trophy ceremony. “That’s pretty intense, so thanks for sticking with it, every match, every day here for me.”
Brooksby, who reached a high of No. 33 in 2022, has endured a suspension and shoulder surgery, and has returned this season with a new team. He showed positive signs in Indian Wells, but this week he put it all together with seven wins, two of of them over Top 20 countrymen, Tiafoe and Paul. We say it just about every week these days, but you can add another American to the list of players to watch in the months and years ahead.
That goes double for Brooksby, who is especially, and oddly, watchable. His game is funky, his serve isn’t spectacularly fast, and elegance is not a word you hear, or think, when he plays. Despite that, he’s an exciting, stubborn competitor who gives full effort, and somehow makes nearly as many jaw-dropping shots per match as the game’s much more elegant superstars. Brooksby’s season just got much more promising; let’s see how far he can take it.
