Brooksby eases past Tiafoe to set Atlanta final with De Minaur

No 6 seed Jenson Brooksby moved into the final of the Atlanta Open by defeating No 4 seed Frances Tiafoe 6-1, 6-4 at the Atlantic Stadion on Sunday night.

Brooksby, ranked No 43, won against Frenchman Benoit Paire (6-3, 6-1), Mackenzie McDonald (6-3, 6-4) and second seed John Isner (3-6, 6-1, 6-4) ahead of his victory.

He dropped just 15 points on serve and took advantage of the fact that Tiafoe only made 45 percent of his first serves in the match.

“I thought I started off really strong today, really physical, really fired up,” said Brooksby.

Brooksby dominated on serve throughout the contest, until the final game, when he faced his first break point and let his nerves get to him as Tiaoe saved five match points. But Brooksby made good on the sixth, cracking a forehand winner to seal the victory in one hour and 35 minutes.

He won 77 percent of his first serve points and 62 percent of his second serve points, and broke Tiafoe’s serves three times on eight opportunities.

Brooksby will bid for his maiden title on Sunday, while De Minaur will bid for his sixth.

In the previous rounds, Tiafoe, ranked No 29, beat Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel (7-5, 6-4) and No 8 seed Brandon Nakashima (6-4, 6-2).

Atlanta ATP 250, other semi-final result (Atlantic Stadion, hard, USD 792.980):

• Alex De Minaur (3) beat Ilya Ivashka: 5-7, 6-2, 6-2

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