Thursday, December 16, 2021

NorCal's Brooksby, 21, voted ATP Newcomer of Year

Jenson Brooksby, warming up for a match in Indian Wells in October,
soared from No. 307 to No. 56 in 10 months. Photo by Paul Bauman
   Jenson Brooksby of Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area was voted the ATP Newcomer of the Year, the organization announced today.
   Brooksby, 21, became the first American to win the award since Taylor Fritz in 2016 and the third since 2000. The other is Andy Roddick in 2001.
   "I am extremely grateful to win the ATP Newcomer of the Year award," Brooksby said on atptour.com. "Thank you to all the players who voted for me. It means a lot. It was definitely a fun season, and I would like to thank the fans for cheering me on throughout the year. Lastly, thanks to my team, who supported me through the tough times and the good times." 
   Brooksby stunningly skyrocketed from No. 307 to No. 56 in 10 months. He reached his maiden ATP Tour final in Newport, R.I., in his first tournament ever on grass, losing to two-time Grand Slam runner-up Kevin Anderson, and the round of 16 in the U.S. Open, dominating Novak Djokovic 6-1 in the first set before falling in four sets.
   Fifteen days after the Newport final, Brooksby beat the 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Anderson en route to the semifinals in Washington, D.C. 
   Also nominated for Newcomer of the Year were No. 67 Hugo Gaston of France, No. 68 Brandon Nakashima of San Diego and No. 90 Juan Manuel Cerundolo and No. 99 Sebastian Baez of Argentina. Gaston is 21, and the other three players are 20.
   Junior Orange Bowl — Five San Francisco Bay Area players reached the third round in Coral Gables, Fla., and Key Biscayne, Fla.
   Advancing in the singles-only tournament were qualifier Sabrina Lin of Saratoga in the girls 14s, No. 2 seed Kristina Penickova of Campbell and No. 17 seed Sephi Sheng of Palo Alto in the girls 12s, and No. 7 seed Vihaan Reddy of San Jose and No. 9 seed Tanishk Konduri of Cupertino in the boys 12s.
   Penickova won the Eddie Herr International Championships two weeks ago in Bradenton, Fla.

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