Tennis Prose




Jun/22

21

Brooksby Stagnant Results A Concern

By Scoop Malinowski

American star Jenson Brooksby began 2022 like a house on fire, a certifiable tennis winning machine. 12-5 in his first 17 matches of the season, including finals of Dallas, a 76 76 loss to Reilly Opelka, Brooksby has cooled off considerably since a 75 61 round of 16 loss to then world no. 2 and current no. 1 Daniil Medvedev at Miami Open.

The 21 year old currently ranked no. 34 has lost first round at six tournaments since Miami and overall his seasonal record is 12-11 (including Challengers).

The lastest loss for Brooksby was first round this week in Eastbourne to Great Britain’s 20-year old phenom Jack Draper 62 62. Draper is currently ranked 108 in the world.

Brooksby was the talk of American tennis for months – how his unorthodox playing style and uncanny fighting spirit could win so many matches and against established veterans like Roberto Bautista Agut, David Goffin, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Karen Khachanov and Jordan Thompson.

But now there has to be some confusion and disarray in Team Brooksby and his childhood coach since age seven Joseph Gilbert, may be on the hot seat. It may or may not be a wise consideration for Brooksby to consider adding a new coach to the operation, one who has actual professional playing experience in the top 50 and top 10 elite pantheon of the ATP.

Because something is missing right now with Brooksby and when progression stops something needs to be changed.

Andy Roddick’s career exploded after he replaced longtime coach Tarik Benhabiles with Brad Gilbert. Dominic Thiem became a Grand Slam champion after replacing Gunther Bresnik with Nico Massu…

Check out the latest line of Uomo Sport tennis attire as worn by Jenson Brooksby

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15 comments

  • MATT SEGEL · June 21, 2022 at 9:03 am

    I don’t know if anything has changed since I saw some of Brooksby’s matches earlier in the year, but his serve is not good enough. He is a tallish guy and was serving in the low hundreds on his first serve. That is a major weakness. In the men’s game I think a great serve, 125 seems to be the magic number if placement is great, is essential. I know Rafa hits a little lower, but his movement compensates for that.
    Second serves are 50/50 propositions for the most part.
    He needs Jeff Salzenstein!

  • Harold · June 21, 2022 at 10:59 am

    After all the years following tennis, you still fall for “ Rise of the Challenger winners”. Alcaraz took the heart out of every guy within 2 years of age.
    Munar looks 10 years older, body language changed since Alcaraz blew by him.
    The Americans: Korda saw the rise of Alcaraz firsthand, can’t win, now his feet are killing him. Brooksby beat Tstsipas, great win, but Agut, Goffin, are shot..not going deep anymore.
    Now to your dump your lifelong Coach .. Do the two number 1’s have to dump their coaches? Toni Nadal? Was he top 200?
    Zverev Tsitsipas are wasting time, and money chasing glamour coaches. Do what you’re doing. Do it better at big points in the match

  • Scoop Malinowski · June 21, 2022 at 12:00 pm

    Matt, I was at the Medvedev loss in Miami and Brooskby was outplaying Med and was up the break and served for it at 5-4. To that point Brooskby was the superior player and he was actually winning free points with his serve. But in that 5-4 game to the end of the match I don’t think Brooksby got one single free point on serve and that, to my eyes was the difference. Med adapted to and solved the puzzle. Agree, Salzy needs to get a phone call from Brooksby and needs to spend a week or two refining that serve. ASAP.

  • Scoop Malinowski · June 21, 2022 at 12:05 pm

    Harold, not saying fire Gilbert but add a second coach with more experience and a different voice. Brooksby and Gilbert obviously have a special bond but six first round losses since Miami Open is a troubling sign. It’s odd Korda pulls out this early, his feet have a week to heal, if they are really the problem. No photos of Korda on crutches. Korda could be playing some kind of mind game with Rafa. )

  • catherine · June 21, 2022 at 12:27 pm

    Well, here’s the answer – anyone can be a coach:

    “The ATP has announced that ‘off-court’ coaching will be trialled for
    the second half of the season. The trial will permit coaching from
    designated coach seats during qualifying and main draw matches at ATP
    Tour events, starting from the week of 11 July 2022.

    The trial will also take place at the US Open and will run through to the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in Turin in November.” (ATP site)

  • Harold · June 21, 2022 at 12:47 pm

    Maybe your words didn’t come out right, I don’t think Nadal loses any sleep over Korda. Maybe you meant he’s “ pulling a Nadal” since you’re convinced Nadal has never had an injury and is s bluffing through his 20 year career.
    Hiring a “ Glam” coach, might work initially, but usually the original coach ends up out. Djokovic’s team went through turmoil, Teaming up with Dad never works, Zverev went through a few guys. Tsitsipas too. Most of them fire their original coach, one of my belief’s is the Coach who was there at the start, get a high percentage at the start, and after a big payday, the family doesn’t want to pay that percentage, and make what they think is a better deal, rarely works out. Not saying a coach wouldn’t do some crappy thing for their own gain. The Womens game is a Coaching Merry go round.My belief is, if you can get a guy into the top of the game, you can keep them there. If a coach sat in a chair next to the player, my thoughts on coaching would change. Then maybe at 2-3 in the 5th set, experience would help, because you can look them in the eye, not praying in the Coaches box, that he remembers what you told him
    Preparation I see no real gain, plus, aren’t you the guy that said “ Coaches just stand there and feed, and pickup balls?

  • Scoop Malinowski · June 21, 2022 at 2:40 pm

    There is no doubt BG helped save Agassi’s career. There is no doubt BG took Roddick to the next level. There is no doubt Lendl made a big difference for Andy Murray. There is no doubt Larri Passos coached Guga Kuerten from childhood teenage years to world no. 1 Grand Slams and to the end of a Hall of Fame career ended by hip surgery. There are different ways to go. WTA coaching is the most unstable job in sports, one coach told me to be a WTA coach is to essentially be a slave. I have told this story a couple times, Hewitt and Federer both fired their coaches before they got to no. 1 in order to save paying them a million dollar bonus (Cahill/Lundgren).

  • Harod · June 21, 2022 at 4:31 pm

    Did I miss Passo’s illustrious singles career? Lol

  • Scoop Malinowski · June 21, 2022 at 7:08 pm

    Harold my point was Passos did not have a pro tennis career but he still was a magnificent coach who took a kid to the top of the sport, he found the talent and succesfully developed and guided it. Maybe Joseph Gilbert can do the same with Brooksby. Maybe Brooksby has the talent and game to do it, we’ll see. Passos was not a great champion of the ATP but he produced a great player, more than many other great ATP players who have tried to coach – McEnroe, Cash, Agassi, Ferreira, Mecir, etc. etc.

  • Harold · June 21, 2022 at 9:16 pm

    Wilander won 7 Majors with his boyhood coach. The money got big for coaches, after the Tennis Academy coaches started losing the kids they raised, to former players. Nicks kids left the fold. The 90’s and on

  • Scoop Malinowski · June 22, 2022 at 8:06 am

    Harold, the tennis academies always generally poached the talented kids who were already developed with the solid foundation – Jimmy Arias from his dad, Andre from his dad, Seles from Jelena Gencic and her dad, Nishikori and Maria were already standout players before they went to IMG, etc. … Mouraoglou is doing that now having poached Coco who was already a junior superstar, and this girl Clervie Ngounoue who was also already a junior star by 12, who I first saw at Eddie Herr go against a NJ girl I was hitting partner for during Herr and Orange Bowl. I can’t even name who was Wilander’s coach, can you?

  • Harold · June 22, 2022 at 12:13 pm

    Jon Anders Sjogren

  • Harold · June 22, 2022 at 12:16 pm

    Coached Nystrom too, until he started getting hurt. Never seen on the tour after 88..Wilander started getting hurt and suspended after that. Basically had friends coaching him after 89

  • Scoop Malinowski · June 22, 2022 at 5:33 pm

    I find that odd how everyone knew the coach of Borg (Bergelin) and Edberg (Pickard) but for some reason Wilander’s coach did not get the media hype or attention. Or maybe I wasn’t paying attention.

  • catherine · June 23, 2022 at 1:52 am

    Wilander wasn’t a big star like Borg /Edberg. That might sound strange now but it’s true. He didn’t win Wimbledon, kept a low profile in his personal life, and I certainly don’t recall very much attention paid to his coach.

    Mats sort of faded away. I remember Martina questioning his commitment to the game even. That was at the end of the 80s.

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