Brooksby belts Botic to reach Antwerp quarterfinals

Jenson Brooksby smiles at his parents in the stands
after a recent practice in Indian Wells. Photo by
Paul Bauman

   Continuing his stunning rise, Jenson Brooksby demolished a U.S. Open quarterfinalist today.

   The 20-year-old qualifier from the Sacramento, Calif., suburb of Carmichael crushed Botic Van De Zandschulp of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-0 in 63 minutes to reach the quarterfinals of the European Open, an ATP 250 tournament on indoor hardcourts in Antwerp, Belgium.

   Brooksby swatted his usual array of spectacular shots against the 26-year-old Van De Zandschulp, who last month became the third qualifier to advance to the last eight at Flushing Meadows. Early in the match, Brooksby almost went into the stands to retrieve a shot yet won the point. Two games later, he ran down a lunging backhand volley and ripped a sharply angled cross-court passing shot, eliciting applause from Van De Zandschulp.

   Brooksby has lost his serve only once and has not dropped more than four games in a set in his four matches in Antwerp. He has faced only one break point, which he saved today, in his two main-draw matches.

   Ranked No. 307 when he turned pro last December, Brooksby will improve at least seven spots to a career-high No. 63 on Monday.

   Brooksby is set to meet another 2021 Grand Slam quarterfinalist, unseeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain, for the first time on Friday.

   The 22-year-old Davidovich Fokina, who reached the last eight in the French Open in June and won the Wimbledon boys singles title in 2017, ousted third-seeded Cristian Garin of Chile 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. 

   In the first round of doubles, Oliver Marach, 41, and Philipp Oswald, 6-foot-7 (2.01 meters), of Austria topped Jonathan Erlich, 44, of Israel and Andre Goransson (University of California, Berkeley, 2014-17) of Sweden 4-6, 6-4 [10-6].

   ATP Tour in Moscow — Yoshihito Nishioka makes Mackenzie McDonald look gigantic.

   The 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter), 160-pound (73-kilogram) McDonald, a San Francisco Bay Area product, beat 5-foot-7 (1.70-meter), 141-pound (64-kilogram) Nishioka, a Japanese left-hander, 6-3, 6-4 in a first-round matchup of 26-year-olds in the VTB Kremlin Cup. 

   Meanwhile, Rohan Bopanna, 41, of India and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan ousted top-seeded Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Ben McLachlan (Cal, 2011-14) of Japan 6-2, 6-4 in the opening round.

   USTA Pro Circuit — Katie Volynets, 19, of Walnut Creek in the Bay Area surprised eighth-seeded Rebecca Marino, a former top-40 player from Canada, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in the first round of the $80,000 Mercer Tennis Classic on hardcourts in Macon, Ga.