🎾 ATP Houston: Daniel vs Brooksby – Match Preview

🎾 ATP Houston: Daniel vs Brooksby – Match Preview

🧠 Form & Context

🟨 Taro Daniel

• 🔁 Mixed 2025: 4–10 record so far, with multiple early-round exits.
• 🎾 Baseline grinder: Known for consistency, but lacks natural firepower to finish points.
• 📉 Confidence low: Lost 5 of his last 6 matches, including Miami, Phoenix, and Indian Wells.
• 🏝️ Clay résumé: Strong career record (349–210) on clay, but yet to play on the surface this season.
• 🇯🇵 Houston return: Competing here for the first time since 2018.

🟥 Jenson Brooksby

• 🔙 Comeback mode: Returning from a lengthy injury layoff and regaining rhythm.
• 🔥 Miami momentum: Recent wins over Draper, Gomez, and Auger-Aliassime. Took a set off Safiullin.
• 🧱 Game style: Smart positioning, flat strokes, thrives on redirection—works well on slower surfaces.
• 🎾 Clay ready: 2–0 on clay in 2025 after back-to-back qualifying wins in Houston.
• 📈 Trending up: 4 wins in last 5 matches; also made QF at Houston Challenger.

🔍 Match Breakdown

Daniel will look to wear Brooksby down with long, grinding exchanges and consistent depth. However, he’s yet to find footing in 2025 and hasn’t played a clay match this year. That could leave him vulnerable in the early stages.

Brooksby, by contrast, looks sharp. He’s been building match fitness and confidence, and Houston’s slow green clay is a surface that rewards his smart patterns and compact shot selection. He can redirect Daniel’s rhythm and win the majority of cat-and-mouse points.

🔮 Prediction

Pick: Brooksby in straight sets

Daniel’s clay experience is real, but Brooksby’s form, tactical clarity, and rhythm on this surface should carry him through this opening round.