Unseeded American Jenson Brooksby has staged an improbable recovery to claim the biggest win of his career, sending world number two Casper Ruud packing in the second round of the Australian Open.
Brooksby looked a broken man—physically and mentally—after blowing three match points in the ninth game of the third set on Thursday.
The 22-year-old slumped to his chair during the changeover, muttering “How? How? How?” to himself and anyone else who cared to listen.
When Ruud claimed the resulting tiebreak, it seemed near-certain he would go on to seal victory.
But Brooksby somehow found the wherewithal to lift again, breaking the Norwegian’s serve twice early in the fourth set before closing out the 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2 upset on his fifth match point….