Two of the best #nextgen stars exhibited their special brands of tennis magic this afternoon at Miami Open.
Jenson Brooksby stumbled into a 63 57 04 hole to Roberto Bautista Agut but astoundingly won six straight games to knockout the Spanish veteran with a dizzying display of stunning shots. The 21 year old looked dead in the water in the third set but as he has repeatedly shown in the last year, there is almost nothing in tennis that can subdue his iron will to win.
Agut the wise old matador learned a hard lesson today from the spunky youngster … Some kids simply can’t be stopped from fulfilling their destiny.
Marin Cilic also failed to utilize his over a decade more pro experience to manhandle the 18 year old Alcaraz. Instead it was the Spanish tornado who did everything better than the former US Open champion.
At 64 44 in the second, Alcaraz did what the great champions are supposed to do … execute their victim as quickly and cleanly as Roger, Rafa or Novak would.
There was no messing around, no nonsense, no stupid shots, Alcaraz finished the old master without any hesitation or pity.
After their triumphs, each embraced their growing fan bases. Brooksby acknowledged Susie from Washington DC holding her custom Brooksby USA flag. And Alcaraz spent time with a very long line of fans lined up to pay homage to the man Jim Courier believes will win one of the next four Grand Slams.
Tennis is in a stage of transition and there is no doubt Brooksby and Alcaraz will be powerful figures leading the sport into a new era.
