Brooksby Wins Marathon Over Ymer To Reach Round 2
Fast-rising American Jenson Brooksby is set to move to a new career-high FedEx ATP Ranking after surviving a draining four-set battle with Swede Mikael Ymer Tuesday night to reach the second round of the US Open. The 20-year-old fought off bouts of cramps before channelling the energy of American fans to tough out a 7-5, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 win in a match featuring 19 breaks of serve and lasting three hours and 59 minutes.
Both players littered the stats sheet, with Brooksby hitting 37 winners to 59 unforced errors and Ymer, last week’s Winston-Salem finalist, hitting 33 winners to 63 unforced errors. Brooksby will next play the winner of Taylor Fritz and 14th seed Alex de Minaur.
Brooksby made a fast start to the US Open Series, reaching the Newport final on grass and the Washington D.C. semi-finals on hard court. But he had not won a match since, falling in the first round in Toronto and not playing in Cincinnati.
Fellow American Zachary Svajda, 18, claimed his first tour-level win when he upset Italy’s former Roland Garros semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. The World No. 716 and 2019 USTA boys’ national champion had played just two ATP Challengers and two ITF Men’s World Tour events this year before arriving at Flushing Meadows.
Countryman Ernesto Escobedo advanced to the second round for the third time in his career with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 win over Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas. It was just the fourth win of the year for the 25-year-old Californian.
Steve Johnson clawed past German qualifier Maximilian Marterer 5-7, 7-6(8), 7-6(8), 6-3 after three hours and five minutes. The American saved two set points in the second-set tie-break and four set points in the third-set tie-break to seize control and earn a second-round clash against 17th seed Gael Monfils, who eliminated Federico Coria 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
“I felt good today. I felt great,” Monfils said. “I had a good match, good performance. Quick. 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Good start, so I feel good.”
Like Johnson, countryman Jack Sock also advanced in four sets. The wild card claimed his third win of the year against Japanese lefty Yoshihito Nishioka 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.
Next up for the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals singles qualifier will be shotmaking Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik, the 31st seed, who eliminated German Yannick Hanfmann 6-0, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. Other Americans who advanced were Mackenzie McDonald, who upset 27th seed David Goffin 6-2, 7-5, 6-3, and Denis Kudla, who rallied past Laslo Djere 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6(4).