By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday March 14, 2022
Jenson Brooksby notched his first Top-5 win and booked a spot in the round of 16 at Indian Wells.
Photo Source:Getty
Jenson Brooksby may not have the prettiest or most elegant tennis game, but the Sacramento native notches beautiful results, and that’s what matters most.
Tonight at the Indian Wells tennis garden the 21-year-old proved once again that he can be extremely difficult to figure out as he befuddled World No.5 Stefanos Tsitsipas, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 for his first career top-5 win and a spot in the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open.
Brooksby rallied from a set down, dramatically shifting the tone of the match after struggling through an off-kilter opening set. He says it was just a matter of composing himself and pushing on.
“I think I played the strategy I had going out on court just pretty poorly,” Brooksby said of his first set. “I was just a little frustrated, a little tense in the first set. It ran away from me really quickly, which can happen if you're not on your game and on the highest energy and focus you need to be. I committed to at least being more positive than I was in the first set and switched it around.”
After the match Tsitsipas didn’t have many nice things to say about the American. But if you read between the lines of his quotes, one recognizes that the Greek, like so many others, finds Brooksby difficult to figure out.
“He's not a very explosive player, but he's able to get balls back. He's not the most athletic player, as well,” he said. “He's just able to read the game well, play with his pace, play with the opponent's pace. He's able to read the game well and stay consistent.
“There's nothing that he has that kills, I would say.”
Brooksby was told of Tsitsipas’ comments and said that it’s normal to him that other players and coaches aren’t overly impressed by his game. What’s important to him is that he keeps doing what works – exploiting other players’ weaknesses.
“I think a lot of players/coaches maybe don't see how I could be as good of a level as I am,” Brooksby said. “That's what we shoot for in our games and strategy, to not be too easily figured out. That's how the top players over history have been. I'm not too surprised to hear that. It's what we shoot for.”