‘It’s Over! It’s Over!’ Emotional Rollercoaster For Holt & Mom, Tracy Austin

After two rain delays, Brandon Holt finally won his final-round qualifying match on Friday at the US Open against Dimitar Kuzmanov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the main draw at a Grand Slam for the first time. The American finished it off by rushing into the net to put away a ball that seemingly floated forever.

In the crowd, Holt’s mother put her hands on her head in disbelief, quickly stood up in celebration, sat down again and looked in complete shock. Moments later she shared a special embrace with Brandon. It was one of the most emotional moments of qualifying week at Flushing Meadows.

It just so happens that Holt’s mother knows a thing or two about winning at the US Open. His mom is Tracy Austin, the two-time tournament winner who remains the youngest champion in US Open history, having lifted the trophy aged 16 in 1979.

“It’s over!” Austin told ATPTour.com of her immediate reaction. “It’s over!”

^{Photo Credit: Pete Staples/USTA}
The former World No. 1 was not the only one who felt that way. Holt led 4-2 in the third set with an opportunity to go up 5-2 when the players were forced inside due to the first rain delay. When play resumed, he earned three match points — two on Kuzmanov’s serve at 5-2 and another at 5-3, 40/15. The Bulgarian played them perfectly to avoid elimination.

On the last of those points, the rain began to fall before the point. Play continued, Holt approached to Kuzmanov’s backhand, and the ATP Cup veteran responded with a tremendous passing shot for a winner. Play was then suspended.

The rain delays were more stressful than the tennis. According to Austin, coach David Nainkin joined Holt in the locker room. Nainkin has worked with several stars over the years including Taylor Fritz, who is Holt’s first-round opponent.

“David Nainkin went in the locker room and we discussed what they would talk about. David went in there and said things we had discussed: his demeanour, his strategy, how to handle those moments,” Austin recalled. “I said a few things on the phone the first time and then there were a lot of texts back and forth.

“I don’t want to complicate it at that point. He’s got to think. You don’t complicate it too much with tactics. He knows how to play. He knows how to finish it off, it’s just about execution.”

Holt added that he nearly fell asleep during one of the delays.

“I was so tired and I was thinking, ‘Man, if I fall asleep and just sleep through my match that would for sure go viral, like, ‘Guy has match point and then gets defaulted because he’s sleeping,’” Holt said. “I just didn’t really look at my phone much because I had a bunch of texts that I didn’t want to start overthinking things. At one point I opened Instagram and the first thing was something like, ‘It would be a huge opportunity for Brandon if he won this’, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, let me put it away’, and then I started laying down more.”

As exhausting as the day was, Holt was rewarded for his efforts with the biggest result of his career. This was his first attempt to qualify for a major, and he did so with three three-set wins.

“He did it. He did it. He handled the moment. He handled the pressure. He won the third time in a row, didn’t have that letdown,” Austin said. “These are big wins for him. It’s a lot of time to think in the locker room. He basically had an hour and a half and [another] hour and a half to think about the last five points, so you’re just so happy that now he’s in the US Open. I still can’t believe it.”

Part of what helped Holt earn his place in the main draw was his fighting spirit. The Court 11 stands were packed with fans hoping the American would move on. It would have been easy for him to feel the pressure after letting slip three match points and having to return inside Arthur Ashe Stadium during the second rain delay.

But the 24-year-old battled until the end and found a way to overcome every obstacle in his way by giving everything he had. That is a trait he has taken from Austin.

“She’s an unbelievable competitor. I think just watching her do day-to-day things, it’s kind of 100 per cent or nothing. I’ve never seen her give anything less than 100 per cent and it’s always that [way], whether she’s doing things for her family — it seems like her favourite thing to do because she’s always there for us,” Holt said. “I think that’s the biggest thing that I’ve learned. Whether it’s in tennis or playing a game of cards. She’s not going to lose. She’ll reach across the table and rip your heart out and then hug you after.”

Inevitably, Holt will be linked to his mother given all she accomplished as a player. However, he is following his own path. Austin won the US Open at 16, while Holt attended college at the University of Southern California, following in the footsteps of players including Steve Johnson, Robert Farah and Emilio Gomez, whom he defeated in the second round of qualifying.

Holt turned professional in 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic began. Last year, Holt began to feel pain in his hand, which troubled him for months. After several doctor visits, he learned an osteoid osteoma, an extra bone growing on his fourth metacarpal. The American had two options to deal with it, and chose the more invasive, but safer option. After undergoing the operation in August, Holt did not play the rest of 2021.

“When I was going through that I had no clue if my career was going to be over. I had no clue about my injury. Luckily I’m healthy, got some good rehab in and I was able to be pain free for this whole time. Definitely it was touch and go there for a little bit,” Holt said. “It’s just a helpless feeling because I didn’t know what it was, it was hurting like crazy. I wasn’t able to play. Basically I couldn’t run, I couldn’t move because I would feel my heartbeat in my hand.”

The situation gave Holt a new perspective. The home favourite did not know what would happen with his career. One year later, he is into the main draw of a major.