“When I was young, it was the top three guys I liked to watch — Djokovic, Nadal and Federer" - Jenson Brooksby 

Like almost every other player on the tour, Jenson Brooksby grew up watching and learning tennis from the three biggest players — Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.

Brooksby is just 21 years of age, but he is already gearing up for a seventh Grand Slam appearance at the upcoming US Open. The American prodigy has made scarcely believable progress in the last year and a half, going from 307 in the ATP rankings at the end of 2020 to 33 in June this year. He currently stands at World No. 43.

During a recent interaction with the ATP, Brooksby showered praise on the Big 3, saying that initially, he didn't understand the amount of work that Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer put in to consistently perform at the highest level.

“When I was young, it was the top three guys I liked to watch — Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. When I was younger, I didn’t really understand what it took to be that good and consistent over the course of those years, as I do now, though. I really appreciate that work ethic now,” Jenson Brooksby said.

The youngster still looks up to and tries to learn from the best. Brooksby stated that his team observes the three greatest players and tries to incorporate their best qualities into his game.

“I respect it even more with how consistently they do what they do to get where they are at. And they have done it for over a decade and I am trying to learn from them. My team and I are really big on doing what we believe in, but my coach watches them and sees what he thinks they do best and I can learn from that," Brooksby added.

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Jenson Brooksby to face Dusan Lajovic in US Open R1

Jenson Brooksby has reached three ATP finals

Jenson Brooksby will take on 88th-ranked Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday. The American is known for his aggressive gamestyle and his willingness to fight till the end for every point. In the same interview, the 21-year-old spoke about how the strategies his team builds for every opponent help him immensely.

“I try and play a physical game style and I think the strategies we come up with when we face opponents bring that aspect out," Brooksby said. "It is something I didn’t have naturally when I was younger. It is something I have worked on a lot. I feel I have a somewhat clear picture on the court that because of how we train, we always have a clear game plan, which helps me see the court really well.”