In a second-round showdown that should have a second-week atmosphere, world No. 43 Jenson Brooksby will face world No. 26 Karen Khachanov at Indian Wells. While Khachanov received a bye in the opening round of this tournament, Brooksby is coming off of a 6-1, 6-4 win over world No. 73 Roberto Carballes Baena. Brooksby had lost his last two matches before his win over Carballes Baena, but those defeats came at the hands of Reilly Opelka and Alexander Zverev. They were both understandable, and Brooksby still managed to win a set against Zverev in Acapulco.
It's difficult to define Brooksby's unique game, and he’s even more difficult to play against. No shot is too funky for the 21-year-old Californian—look at how Novak Djokovic was rattled in his match with Brooksby at last year's US Open—and he’s a master at redirecting pace. Combine that with an elite ability to track down shots, and Brooksby is one of the better defensive players on tour. With an uncanny ability to cover the court, Brooksby doesn’t just get to balls and simply push them over the net; he tracks them down and finds ways to hit dangerous shots from anywhere—at anytime.