US OPEN

August 30, 2024

Brandon Nakashima

Press Conference

B. NAKASHIMA/L. Musetti

6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Four sets. Three hours. Put this win into context for us.

BRANDON NAKASHIMA: Yeah, I mean, it was a great win for me. Super exciting atmosphere out there. You know, I thought both of us were playing at a really high level the whole match. I'm just really happy to get through.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. That was wild out there. Take me to the fourth set. You're down 4-0, two breaks. I know you never give up on a set, but are you starting to think, okay, I'm going five, or tell me what you're thinking about when it's 4-Love there.

BRANDON NAKASHIMA: At that point, I was just telling myself just to keep fighting for every point and try not to give him anything for free. Just keep fighting away, chipping away. Eventually find yourself back at 4-All, and it's a brand-new set.

I was just telling myself just to stay focused, try not to let down too much. Even if I ended up losing that set, hopefully going to the fifth set, I was able to get back a little confidence.

Q. What turned it around that made you start to believe? Was it the first break, or what sort of gave you...

BRANDON NAKASHIMA: Yeah, I think the first few games, 4-1, 4-2, they were pretty long games. I was able to squeeze those out and just kind of got that belief back that I was able to come back in the set and, you know, eventually tie it up.

Q. Obviously a great tournament for you so far. It's been a great year. Talk to me a little bit about this year in general and how your confidence has built up. Seems like everything has come together for you the last few months. What do you put that down to?

BRANDON NAKASHIMA: Yeah, I think it's a combination of everything, really. I think my team and I have done a really good job putting in the hard work in the gym and on the practice court.

And with every match, just kind of building that confidence more and more. To be able to make these deep runs at these big tournaments, you know, it's very exciting for us. You know, it's nice to see kind of the hard work paying off.

Q. If you look at where you are now compared to where you might have been 12 months ago, you had a really tough year, looking back at that, how do you think things have changed mentally? And how were you feeling at that point last year compared to how you're feeling right now?

BRANDON NAKASHIMA: I think last year definitely the confidence was a little bit down. I lost a lot of close matches. You know, after a few, they kind of pile up. The confidence starts to go down, but I was still, you know, training hard, working hard in the gym and on the practice courts.

Yeah, this year, I mean, played a lot of matches and got a lot of good wins. The confidence definitely back up there. You know, when you're playing confident out there, you're hitting through your shots a little bit more and just kind of playing a little bit more freely.

Q. Musetti is such a crazy shotmaker, and he had some crazy shots tonight. How do you sort of, as a player, when he hits one of those kind of shots or playing someone like him, sort of reset quickly and not be thrown by some of the acrobatics and the craziness?

BRANDON NAKASHIMA: Yeah, he's definitely a very talented player. You know, he's gonna have a lot of kind of ups and downs during the match, and you just kind of have to ride the wave as best as possible.

I think today I got off to a really good start. You know, I expected him to kind of raise his level, as well. He did end up playing a lot better the second set, and it was just a matter of kind of fighting for every point in the third set and kind of chipping away to kind of find the break. I thought both of us were playing at a really high level today.

Q. What does it mean to be in the fourth round? First time here at the US Open, you had the crowd really on your side. What does it mean to you to be pushing back and being at this level and making your first fourth round here?

BRANDON NAKASHIMA: Yeah, it's an unbelievable experience here. To make the fourth round, as an American, it's just a very exciting time for me.

To play in front of these crowds, get that home support, it's just super special. You know, I'll just kind of treasure these moments as I get through them.

Q. A lot of Italian support out there too today.

BRANDON NAKASHIMA: Exactly. No, it was amazing.

Q. You mentioned being an American player, playing here. Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe had a great match. That little group of Americans between 10 and 20 doing really well in the world rankings. How much does that motivate you being a couple years younger, pushing yourself into that mix after this tournament and get after that?

BRANDON NAKASHIMA: Yeah, it definitely motivates me. Always great to see the other Americans doing well. I think they have set the bar pretty high for American tennis.

You know, for me, I try to stay focused on myself, but at the same time, you know, it's nice to see all of them doing well, and it's definitely an exciting time for American tennis.