American Jennifer Brady Ousts 23rd Seed Barbora Strycova at US Open
(August 31, 2017) FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY – Jennifer Brady knocked out No. 23 seed Barbora Strycova, 6-1, 6-1 on the Grandstand, to reach the third round of the US Open on Thursday.
Brady dominated the Czech in every way on the court winning a total of 56 points in the match to Strycova’s 26.
Brady, a 22-year-old American, failed to qualify for the US Open the previous three straight years. It’s her first year playing the main draw.
At the Australian Open, the No. 91 player in the world also reached the third round and made it to the round of 16. Seems that she is making her mark in major events.
“Playing on the big stage, obviously there is more anxiety,” Brady noted. “The atmosphere is what really makes it good.”
“Just almost forgetting about that and just focusing on what I want to do on the court and, you know, not getting too caught up in how many people are watching, how many people are cheering for me, things like that. Just going, playing, getting the job done and going home.”
Brady credited her two years at UCLA with giving her confidence in her game.
“Those two years were pretty crucial for me. You know, if I were to do the whole process again, I would stick to what I did and go back to UCLA. Yeah, I learned a lot off-court, just learning how to be on my own.
“You know, I was at an academy for basically my whole life when I played tennis, so, you know, I had the same schedule every single day. Nothing outside of that changed.
“So it was good to have a change. I learned a lot from that off-court and on-court.”
Brady trained the Evert Academy in Florida and said she heard from Chris Evert recently. Born in Harriburg, Pennsylvania, Brady moved to Florida as a child.
“Chrissie messaged me the other day. Yeah, it’s great hearing from her, you know, knowing that she supports me.
“I was very privileged to, you know, train at the academy and have her there. When I was younger, she hit with us. It was a lot of fun.”
“(It’s) an honor to know that somebody, you know, who is a legend in the game, you know, knows who I am and supports me and, you know, believes in me.”
In the first round, Brady beat Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
She’ll play Monica Niculescu of Romania in the third round. Niculescu defeated Ana Bogan in three sets.