Playing just his fifth ATP tournament since being sidelined for two years because of injury and a suspension, Jenson Brooksby won his first title at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship on Sunday afternoon.
It was a borderline miracle run in Houston for Brooksby, and not just because he was sidelined for 24 months from January of 2023 until January of 2025. The 24-year-old American trailed his first-round qualifying match against Federico Agustin 6-3, 5-3 and faced a match point. He was triple-match point down against Alejandro Tabilo in round two of the main draw. He came back from a set down against Aleksandar Kovacevic in the quarterfinals and Tommy Paul served for their semifinal match at 6-5 in the third set.
Brooksby finally enjoyed a rare straightforward affair on Sunday, cruising past No. 2 seed Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 27 minutes.
In Bucharest, Flavio Cobolli also became a first-time ATP champion with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Sebastian Baez in the final of the Tiriac Open. Cobolli had been 2-8 on the main tour in 2025 prior to this week, but he capped off a resurgent week by beating an in-form Baez in one hour and 46 minutes.
The Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech saw Luciano Darderi lift his second ATP Trophy. Like Cobolli, Darderi had also been 2-8 for the year before suddenly capturing a title from completely out of nowhere. The 57th-ranked Italian upset top-seeded Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(3), 7-6(4) during two hours and three minutes of play on Sunday.
Cobolli, Tiafoe, and Baez will now make the trip to Monte-Carlo for the first of three clay-court Masters 1000 tournaments.
nice one, Brooks