Tennis News – Alex De Minaur does it again in Atlanta, beats Brooksby for sixth career ATP title

By Ricky Dimon

The Atlanta Open might as well be the John Isner Invitational, but Alex de Minaur looks eager to carry the torch whenever Isner retires.

Or he may not even wait for that to happen.

De Minaur captured the title in back-to-back trips to Atlanta by defeating Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 6-3 in the final on Sunday afternoon. The 23-year-old triumphed in 2019 before Covid-19 cancelled the 2020 event and then he was entered in the Olympics last summer but missed it because of an ill-timed positive test. Three years later, De Minaur made up for lost time with his first title of the 2022 campaign and sixth overall. It’s the only tournament he has won twice in his career.

“I’d like to thank the crowd,” the Aussie said during the trophy ceremony. “You guys were amazing. I’m not a local but you guys sure made me feel like one, so I really appreciate the support.”

The first-ever matchup between the two finalists looked like a favorable one stylistically for De Minaur. Brooksby’s junk-balling style made little inroads against a consistent baseliner and brilliant defender like De Minaur. When the 21-year-old American was forced into extended rallies, he rarely had the upper hand. In fact, Brooksby won only three of 16 second-serve points in the match and dropped serve four times. De Minaur converted all four of his break-point opportunities.

“I knew coming in it [would be] a very tactical, chess-like match that we were going to both play,” the world No. 30 explained. “I feel like we are both tricky players in that sense and we adapt very well, so (there were) a lot of tactics going both ways and I’m happy I was able to execute my game-plan and get the win today. But it was a very tough match. Plenty of times [it could have] gone either way and even though the scoreboard was 3 and 3, it felt very, very tight.”

De Minaur is the third player to win Atlanta multiple times. Mardy Fish lifted each of the first two trophies handed out in 2010 and 2011, while Isner has triumphed on six occasions in the event’s 12-year history.

Brooksby is now 0-3 lifetime in ATP finals, having previously lost last summer in Newport and earlier this season in Dallas.

“I was disappointed with my performance out there today, but you’ve got to be able to think long term and just try to see how consistently I can reproduce my focus and those results,” the Sacramento, Calif. native commented. “I just need to learn from that one and keep staying in the present.”

There will be a De Minaur vs. Brooksby rematch in the Washington, D.C. second round if Brooksby beats Yoshihito Nishioka on Tuesday.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.