One year ago, Brandon Holt’s right hand was in a cast after potentially career-ending surgery.
“His career was in jeopardy,” his mother, Tracy Austin, told The Post. “He’s come back and became stronger, so he’s even more appreciative.’’
Holt certainly appreciated Monday night at the U.S. Open.
In a stunner, Holt, who returned to the lowest rungs of the tour in February ranked 925th, beat 10th-seeded American Taylor Fritz 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in a first-round match on the grandstand court.
Holt, a 24-year-old native of Rolling Hills, Calif., received a wild card into the Open qualifier. Last week, he reeled off three straight victories over top-150 opponents, including surviving the clinching match after two long rain delays. But nobody expected him to topple Fritz, his longtime South Californian friend who he’s known since he was 9.
Holt, who played first singles at USC, is in the second round of Open — an event his mother, now 59, captured in 1979 and 1981.
Brandon Holt during a match against Sam Querrey on May 17, 2020. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images“He beat three guys back to back-to-back in the hundreds so that’s a great effort, all three sets,” said Austin, a longtime broadcaster, said before the match. “He’s had wins like that so wasn’t a complete shock, but it’s wonderful.”
Taking the grandstand hard court alongside the Grand Central Parkway is a far cry from playing in Winnipeg; Cancun; Lexington, Ky.; and Nottingham, England — backwater tennis outposts where he battled on the ITF bottom-level circuit after being out eight months.
Austin classifies herself as the “architect” of her son’s career, but not the coach. She’s done a lot of rebuilding after Holt was diagnosed with an extremely rare benign tumor found on the fourth metacarpal. Doctors were confounded by finding a way to do the surgery without ending his career.
Tracy Austin (l.) with Mark Wooldridge during BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon on July 4, 2022. PA Images via Getty Images“It was very tricky,” Austin said.
Austin says “guidance” is her key impact on Holt’s tennis journey and lets his coaches do the dispensing of information.
“I’ve been involved with finding the right coach, conferring with the coach, watching the lesson,” Austin said. “But I want the information to be dispensed by the coach so I can stay ‘mom.’ It’s cleaner that way.”
Upset of the day
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the fourth seed from Greece, was stunned in the first round, losing to 95th-ranked Daniel Galan of Colombia, 6-0, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 on the night card. The match was played on Armstrong Stadium, overshadowed by the Serena Williams soiree next door.
