By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday July 17, 2021
American Jenson Brooksby eased past Australia's Jordan Thompson to reach his first ATP final at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport.
Photo Source: Hall of Fame Open
20-year-old American Jenson Brooksby continued his magical run at the Hall of Fame Open, defeating 71st-ranked Jordan Thompson, 6-3, 7-6(3) to reach become the youngest finalist at the Hall of Fame Open since Greg Rudedski in 1993.
Brooksby, a Sacramento native who owns a 21-2 record on the challenger circuit with three titles in 2021, is playing in just his fourth ATP-level event - he entered the week with one tour-level victory to his name.
He will face Kevin Anderson, who defeated Alexander Bublik, 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 in Sunday’s final.
Anderson, a former World No.5 who is currently ranked 113, is into his first final since 2019 in Pune, India, where he won the title.
Brooksby's rise has been remarkable. He completed 2020 ranked 307 in the world after a year spent away from competition due to a toe injury and the coronavirus, but he has been on fire since the 2021 season began. He is projected to rise to 126 in the rankings and could rise as high as 112 if he wins the title.
On Friday, after his quarterfinal victory over Peter Gojowczyk, he told Tennis Now that he believes discipline, shot selection and fitness have been the biggest reason for his rise.
"I definitely believe my level has improved since [2019],” he said, “but I think the bigger thing is that I've played with more discipline and I've focused, I've hit the right shots better in practice more often, which has made it easier for me to transition, both mentally, like confidence-wise and in the matches and also my physicality has gotten a lot better, especially since two years ago, I was a late grower, so I feel like those two factors are big which is why I'm even a lot better now than two years ago. And also my game has gotten better, we've worked on it a lot and fine-tuned some things. I have good talks with my coach and I just see it getting better."