Jenson Brooksby’s confounding game leaving Atlanta opponents in “a pickle”

WATCH: Jenson Brooksby defeats Frances Tiafoe in the 2022 Atlanta semifinals—and borrows Tiafoe's signature Lebron celebration on match point

ATLANTA, Ga. — After completing a one-sided thumping over Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals and reaching the Atlanta Open championship match at the expense of just one set, Jenson Brooksby was still not satisfied.

In fact, the 21-year-old would have probably hit the practice court again—if his 6-1, 6-4 victory hadn’t finished close to 11 p.m., and if he didn’t have a final to play the next day against Alex de Minaur.

“I'm just always someone who wants to have my game feeling as good as possible, especially in the later matches in the tournament,” Brooksby told press after the match. “I definitely think I played a strong first set for sure, and early in the second set.

“But, you know, there's always going to be a few things to work on.”

Some of those things have been on full display at the ATP 250 event in Atlanta, which marks the start of the North American hard-court swing in the lead-up to the US Open.

It’s Brooksby’s first showing since he bowed out of Wimbledon in the third round, a disappointing end to a lackluster European clay and grass swing. The American had impressed at the beginning of the season, reaching his second career final in Dallas and reaching back-to-back fourth rounds at Indian Wells and Miami.

Brooksby wouldn’t be the first young American player to wrestle with the long weeks on the road during European swing, especially during the early stages of his career. After struggling to keep his focus, the 21-year-old said being back on home soil has helped shift his mentality back to his usual intensity.

“I think [my mentality] is similar now to last year,” he said, recalling his 2021 breakthrough. “For instance, in the European tournaments it was a little… not how it's supposed to be. But I think that's in the past now. We know how to manage that better.

“But just, it's always [about] staying in the present for me. Right now. I feel like I'm in a good headspace and a good mentality like last year and just hope to keep bringing that every day.”

It doesn’t hurt that Brooksby’s unconventional game continues to confound players, even in his second year on tour. The current world No. 43 has charged into the Atlanta final at the expense of just one set, on the back of his big serve and endless variety of his groundstrokes.

During their semifinal on Saturday night, his opponent Tiafoe—already down a set and searching for answers in the second—turned to the Atlanta crowd in exasperation and said, “Remember the name, Jenson Brooksby. This guy’s a f*ing pickle.”

“That's nice to hear from him,” Brooksby said with a smile after hearing those comments. “I really think when I'm training well and I’m really, really focused in and zoned in on my game, that the sky's the limit for me. You know, I think I can achieve anything.

“That's nice to hear from him. And I'll do my best to make that happen over the years.”

When I'm training well and I’m really, really focused in and zoned in on my game... the sky's the limit for me. Jenson Brooksby

A year ago this week, Brooksby was No. 129 and was coming off a major career milestone: his first ATP final in Newport. Now firmly inside the Top 50, the American is becoming a familiar face at these stages of a tournament, with Atlanta marking his third championship match—though he’s still seeking one more milestone in the form of his first ATP title.

It will be No. 6 seed Brooksby and No. 3 seed de Minaur’s first tour-level meeting. De Minaur won the Atlanta title in 2019, while Brooksby made his tournament debut this year.