No. 3 seeded Australian Alex de Minaur downed No. 6 seeded American Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 6-3 Sunday to claim his second Atlanta Open title in three years and sixth ATP Tour title of his career.
“It was great to get another title under my name,” de Minaur said. “It’s my sixth title. It feels good. Not a lot of people have been able to do that, so I feel great. I feel great about my game. I’ve put a lot of work in, so it’s great to see the hard work being rewarded.”
De Minaur started his week by defeating James Duckworth in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Following this match, the rest of his journey to the final was not easy, but he overcame every obstacle that came his way. In both the quarterfinals and semifinals, de Minaur rallied back after being down in the first set. In the quarterfinals, he downed Adrian Mannarino 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. On Saturday, he defeated Ilya Ivashka 7-5, 2-6, 2-6 to punch his ticket to the final.
In the final, de Minaur and Brooksby started the first set competitively. With the first game going to de Minaur after beginning the game with a 40-0 lead, Brooksby refused to back down, taking the next game and tying the set at 1-1. The third game became a back-and-forth battle which carried on until an ace gave de Minaur the advantage, and an out-of-bounds shot gave him the game and 2-1 lead. Brooksby kept himself in it, taking the fourth game and making the set 2-2. However, de Minaur would take the subsequent three wins by displaying stellar defense to bring the game to 5-2. Needing one more game to take the set, Brooksby recognized the need to keep himself in the game. Capitalizing on de Minaur’s consecutive out-of-bounds shots, Brooksby cut the lead to 5-3. Not willing to lose his lead, de Minaur sealed the set with high-powered serving. A 108-mph serve brought de Minaur to 30-0, and a 112-mph serve took his lead to 40-15 before running away with the game and the first set, 6-3.
“I feel like we are both tricky players in that sense and we adapt very well, so a lot of tactics going both ways and I’m happy I was able to execute my game plan and get the win today,” de Minaur said.
De Minaur kept his momentum going to start the final set, taking the first game. Brooksby recovered from his early mistakes to take the second game with well-timed offensive plays and bring the set to 1-1. The set’s third game went back to Brooksby after having collected a 40-15 lead. An out-of-bounds hit by de Minaur gave Brooksby the game and the lead at 2-1. Not backing down, de Minaur tied the set at 2-2 after using a 94-mph ace. The crowd was offered a glimmer of hope for the 21-year-old Californian in the next set as he took the game easily from de Minaur overpowering him defensively to put the game at 3-2. However, Brooksby could not hold onto his lead with de Minaur taking the next three games with strong offense to control the match and get him the 2022 Atlanta Open title with a win in straight sets.
De Minaur was the better man converting on all four of his break points and saving 80% of his breakpoints. He also had four aces compared to Brooksby’s two in the match, reflecting his serving strength over his opponent.
“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,” Brooksby said.
With this year’s Atlanta Open singles champion hailing from Australia and the doubles winning team also coming from the Land Down Under, it is safe to say that the Aussies took over Atlanta and captured the hearts of much of the home crowd. Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios won a 7-6 (4) 7-5 victory against Jason Kubler and John Peers in an all-Australian final.
“I’d like to thank the crowd,” De Minaur said following the final. “You guys were amazing. I’m not a local, but you guys sure made me feel like one, so really appreciate the support.”
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