By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday October 20, 2021
Surging American Jenson Brooksby waltzed past Botic van de Zandschulp and into the Antwerp quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Photo Source: AP
American Jenson Brooksby has been an eye-opening talent on the ATP Tour all season. And the 20-year-old Sacramento native is showing no signs of slowing down as he winds down his terrific campaign.
Brooksby, a qualifier at Antwerp, powered into his third ATP quarter-final of the season with a commanding 6-2, 6-0 victory over World No.62 Botic van de Zandschulp on Wednesday at the European Open, improving to 14-8 on the season and advancing to a last eight matchup where he will face either third-seeded Cristian Garin of Chile or Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
"It's never as easy as the score looks sometimes, but I thought I started out [well], I just felt strong today," Brooksby, ranked 70th, said on court after his win. "I just didn't let up my focus at all and I think that showed."
Brooksby won the final seven games of the contest, dropped just ten points on serve and won 19 of 25 second-serve return points against the 26-year-old Dutchman.
"I'm just trying to take it one day at a time," Brooksby said. "[I hope to] enjoy the last few tournaments the rest of the season and then just have a fun offseason getting ready for a big next year, hopefully."
It has been a breathtaking season from Brooksby, who started the season outside the Top-300 and won three challenger titles before reaching his first ATP Final at Newport. Since then he has reached the semifinals at the Citio Open and second week of the US Open, where he took a set off of Novak Djokovic.
Sinner Tops Musetti in an All-Italian Clash
Top-seeded Jannik Sinner broke open a close match with Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti to win 7-5, 6-2.
The first meeting between the two promising talents was locked at 5-all in the first set, and Musetti had a game point to hold for 6-5, but Sinner broke and claimed the opening set, 7-5.
Sinner then took over the match, and after a run of seven of eight games, he lead 7-5, 5-1 over the 19-year-old World No.69.
Musetti saved two match points and held to stay around for a few more minutes, but Sinner confidently served out the match, converting his third match point to earn his victory in one hour and 34 minutes.
Sinner, a three-time champion on the ATP Tour this year, improves to 39-18 on the season and will face France’s Arthur Rinderknech in the quarterfinals.
Rinderknech took out Federico Delbonis 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to reach his sixth quarterfinal of 2021.