Brooksby upsets Paul in Houston, to play Tiafoe for title
Houston: Wildcard qualifying entrant Jenson Brooksby secured an upset 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(6) win over top seed Tommy Paul in the semifinals of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship.
The 24-year-old American became the sixth tour-level finalist ranked outside the world’s Top 500 since 1990 and the second qualifier to reach the final of the tournament since it moved to Houston in 2001. Mariano Zabaleta also achieved the feat in 2007 before falling to Ivo Karlovic, according to ATP Tour.
The Americans exchanged multiple breaks and traded lead trajectories in each of the three sets. In the end, Brooksby prevailed in the battle of the breaks while also saving a match point in the third set tie-breaker.
Paul and Brooksby dealt with unpredictable weather conditions that caused a few starts and stops throughout the course of the match.
With the victory, Brooksby handed Paul his first loss to an American player in 2025 and scored his sixth consecutive win of the week since his first-round qualifying win last Saturday. He has now saved five match points in three of his six matches and has spent 13 hours and 20 minutes on court in singles, the tournament reports.
Brooksby will compete against No. 2 seed Frances Tiafoe, the 2023 US Clay champion and 2024 finalist, in Sunday’s final.
If Brooksby wins the trophy, he would be the lowest ranked champion in US Clay history. He is projected to reach No. 220 at minimum for advancing to the finals alone, cutting his ranking by more than half over the course of his six match wins this week.
Tiafoe defeated No. 4 seed Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 7-6 to advance to his third straight US Clay final. The 27-year-old has now won 10 of his last 11 matches at River Oaks and holds a 12-5 lifetime record here, the most wins of any active ATP player.