MELBOURNE. – American Jenson Brooksby knocked second seed Casper Ruud out of the Australian Open on Thursday with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-2 victory, extinguishing the Norwegian’s hopes of winning a first Grand Slam title and topping the world rankings.
Two breaks of serve in the opening set of the second-round match handed Brooksby the early lead and he dictated terms in the second to raise the prospect of another big upset by a Californian after Mackenzie McDonald beat defending champion Rafa Nadal.
The 24-year-old Ruud, twice a runner-up in Grand Slams last year, saved three match points before winning the third set in a tiebreak as Brooksby began to feel the pressure but the American regained his composure in the fourth to complete the win.
“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.
“I was really 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.”
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev fought off a challenge from Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori in the third set to reach the third round with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3 win.
Rublev, who reached the quarterfinals in 2021, will next face Britain’s Dan Evans.
In women’s play, Coco Gauff battled past Emma Raducanu 6-3, 7-6(4) on to reach the third round, but not before the two prodigies offered fans a good glimpse of what the future of women’s tennis could look like after an absorbing first clash.
After a medical timeout following the second set, Ruud was far more comfortable on court but found himself broken and down 2-0 and then 5-2 in the third but he saved three match points in the next game to force a tiebreak as Brooksby’s clean winners deserted him.
A lot is expected of French Open runner-up Gauff, who at 18 is two years younger than Raducanu but has not tasted the Grand Slam success the Briton did as a teenager, and the seventh seed saved three breakpoints to win a first set she controlled.
Handed a prime-time slot on Rod Laver Arena following the retirements last year of champion Ash Barty and 23-time major winner Serena Williams, the torchbearers of a new era pushed each other hard before Gauff edged ahead in the second set.
Having returned from an ankle injury suffered in a warm-up event in Auckland, Raducanu was troubled by an abs problem after being broken at 2-1 and Gauff pounced, before fending off a late fightback by the 2021 Flushing Meadows champion to prevail.
Former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova lost only seven points in the first set as the Czech 30th seed beat Yulia Putintseva 6-0, 7-5 to reach the third round.
