(New York) American Jennifer Brady put her hands together, lifted her head, closed her eyes and let herself be immersed in the greatest tennis moment of her career.
Posted on September 6, 2020 at 2:58 p.m.
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The 25-year-old Brady was the first player of the day to advance to the quarter-finals of the US Open on Sunday, beating former tournament champion Angelique Kerber in two sets of 6-1, 6-4.
His compatriot Shelby Rogers also caused a surprise, taking the measure of sixth seed Petra Kvitova in three innings of 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (6).
“It’s so special,” said Rogers, who reached the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows for the first time in his career.
While several top players have withdrawn due to injuries or concerns related to COVID-19, the youngest have had the opportunity to seize the moment. No one has done it better than Brady, who hasn’t conceded a single set in four games since the tournament began, and has lost just 19 games so far.
For Kerber, this is a brutal end to the tournament after an encouraging first week of activity. The 2016 US Open champion was never able to slow down Brady, who roughed her up with her powerful serve and precise forehand.
During the clash, Brady resorted to medical time-out and returned with a bandage on her upper left leg.
“My leg was bothering me and I wasn’t serving well,” said Brady. I was proud to have been able to close the books. ”
Brady had never reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament. She will now face Yulia Putintseva.
Putintseva smashed his racket to the ground after conceding the second set, in a burst of frustration that marked a turning point in his match.
The 35e World player bounced back and surprised eighth seed Petra Martic 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, securing her first pass to the quarter-finals in New York at the same time.
“Before the third round, I told myself that I had to make it difficult for him. I said to myself that I had to make her run as much as possible, ”observed Putintseva.
Putintseva is so far the best player in the tournament to break her opponent’s serve, and she converted four of her nine opportunities on Sunday.
Martic requested the intervention of a therapist to treat a left foot injury, before the last game of the match. She completed the game with 39 unforced errors – 14 more than Putintseva.
In the evening, Naomi Osaka took advantage of Anett Kontaveit’s weaknesses early in the game to secure her pass to the quarter-finals.
Fourth seed, Osaka faced no break point and defeated Kontaveit 6-3, 6-4.
The Japanese have won two Grand Slam tournaments so far. She was crowned champion at Flushing Meadows in 2018. Last year, she lost in the fourth round.
Kontaveit won the first point of the match, but subsequently had two double faults and two backhand errors.
Osaka was on its way, winning 35 points on serve on 45 occasions.
The 22-year-old will face Shelby Rogers in the next round.
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