Jenson Brooksby knocked out Casper Ruud in Australian Open 2023: After reaching 2 Grand Slam finals last year, Casper Ruud was expected to make a deep run at the Australian Open 2023, mainly with world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz not competing in Melbourne. However, the world No. 3 has crashed out in the second round to Jenson Brooksby, who has recorded his second win over a top 10 player in his promising career.
The unseeded American Jenson Brooksby was able to send the 2022 French Open and US Open finalist, Casper Ruud 6-3 7-5 6-7(4) 6-2 to reach the third round for the 1st time in his career after a match filled with epic rallies.
The 22-year-old will play fellow American Tommy Paul next after he beat world No. 32 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in five sets.
Casper Ruud’s early exit left the AO 2023 without its top two seeds in week one after Nadal’s shock loss on the same court Wednesday to another American in Mackenzie McDonald.
Brooksby is ranked 39th and making his Australian Open debut.
Casper Ruud and Jenson Brooksby
“Casper’s a warrior, I knew it’d be a great battle out there. I was pretty confident with my level and just wanted to have fun out there and see what could happen,” Brooksby, 22, said in his on-court interview.
“I was proud of my mental resolve out there after the third-set battle didn’t go my way to turn it around.
“Last year, I had COVID the day before I was due to fly out, and that sucked. But hopefully, this is the first of many years to come.”
Ruud was the runner-up at the French Open to Nadal last June and, at the U.S. Open to Carlos Alcaraz last September.
Brooksby’s unusual playing style, including his two-handed backhand volleys and ability to track down opponent’s shots, were trouble for Ruud, who took a medical timeout after the second set.
The biggest problem for Brooksby was closing this one out. He held a trio of match points while trying to serve out the victory at 5-3 in the third set but could not cash any of them in.
After he got broken, thereby missing a backhand, Brooksby sat down in his changeover seat and yelled at himself: “How?! How?! God!”
Ruud, a 24-year-old Norwegian, raced through the end of that set, but Brooksby righted himself in the fourth, jumping out to a 3-0 lead. Brooksby finished things off 1 hour and 15 minutes after his first chance.
