Taylor Fritz, the highest-seeded American man in Melbourne at No. 4, defeated Jenson Brooksby 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 in an all-American clash Tuesday at the Australian Open to book his spot in the second round.
Fritz was in full control and won 11 straight games at one point to beat Brooksby, who was returning to Grand Slam action for the first time in two years after injuries and a suspension for allegedly having missed three doping tests.
Fritz, the 2024 US Open runner-up, dropped only five games to Brooksby — his second fewest in a match at the Australian Open (he lost only four games to Hugo Gaston a year ago in Round 2).
In other early men’s results, No. 19 Karen Khachanov advanced over Adrian Mannarino, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-3, and Matteo Berrettini beat Cameron Norrie 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.
It was Berrettini’s first win at Melbourne Park since his semifinal run in 2022.
“It’s been a long time since I won a match here,” said Berrettini, who suffered a first-round loss in 2023 and missed the Slam last year.
He next faces Denmark’s Holger Rune, the No. 13 seed who came through a roller-coaster match to beat China’s Zhang Zhizhen 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
“Very exciting match. We played twice last year, two three-set matches (at Masters events). Luckily I got to win those two but let’s see,” Rune said.
ESPN Research, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
