Jenson Brooksby came back from two sets to one down vs Aussie Open semifinalist Aslan Karatsev to win in five, after slaying compatriot Taylor Fritz in four sets. The 20 year old from Sacramento believes he not only beat Djokovic but he has what it takes to become the first American male to win the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003.
“I believe I have the game definitely to go all the way,” Brooksby said when asked about his expectations going into this year’s US Open. “I didn’t doubt that in my own mind. I didn’t put any expectations like [reaching] a second week or anything. I don’t really think like that. But I do have the confidence in myself that I can go really far in whatever tournament I play. Yeah, obviously the next one’s another big match, but I just try to prepare the same as all the others and try to give the best I can.”
Shelby Rogers was 0-6 career vs world no. 1 Ash Barty but last night on Ashe Stadium the 28 year old American turned the tables with a stunning display of smart tennis, power tennis, counter punching and dogged defense.
Rogers won the first set 6-2, then lost the second 6-1 and found herself down 2-5 in the third, and just four points away from her seventh loss to the Australian.
“I was just trying to stay in the point longer than Ash,” Rogers told the crowd after her stunning win in a third set tiebreaker 7-5 by winning the final two points. “She was handling my pace really well tonight, I feel like the harder I hit the ball, the better she hit, so I tried to throw in some high ones. That is definitely not the way I like to play, but it’s what I needed to do tonight. So I was happy with myself for problem-solving.”
Rogers now has a date with 18 year old Brit Emma Raducanu, who has reached the fourth round after her fourth round run at Wimbledon. Raducanu has reached the fourth round of her first two Grand Slam appearances, a stunning feat that not even Roger Federer, Rod Laver, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova could do. (Note: Monica Seles, Billie Jean King and Chris Evert actually did better than Raducanu, so far, in their first two Grand Slams – Seles reached the SF and 4R of 1989 Roland Garros and Wimbledon, Evert reached the SF of 1972 Wimbledon and US Open, Billie Jean King made QF of her first slam at 1967 Roland Garros and won 1967 Wimbledon.)
Rogers opted to not discuss the Raducanu match, instead preferring to savor her career best win vs Barty.
Reilly Opelka is also into the fourth round via a straight set win vs. Nikolay Basilashvili 76 63 64 and now faces Lloyd Harris of South Africa, conqueror of Denis Shapovalov last night in three sets.
Frances Tiafoe beat Andrey Rublev in five sets to set up a showdown with Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime who beat Roberto Bautista Agut also in five.
Frances Tiafoe · Jenson Brooksby · Reilly Opelka · Shelby Rogers · US Open
