Brady bounces teen phenom at Top Seed Open to reach her first WTA finals
A rising star has kicked down a new door in the Top Seed Open at Top Seed Tennis Club in Nicholasville.
Jennifer Brady knocked off teen phenom Cori “Coco” Gauff 6-2, 6-4, in the semifinals of the $225,000 Women’s Tennis Association tournament on Saturday to earn her first career trip to a WTA finals.
“Obviously, reaching a final in any tournament is a great opportunity,” Brady told the media in a post-match Zoom teleconference. “Hopefully, I come out and play well tomorrow and we’ll see (what happens).”
Brady, a 25-year-old from Harrisburg, Pa., who is No. 49 in the WTA rankings, lost the first game in each set but quickly rebounded to take control in both, keeping Gauff off-balance with powerful serves and blistering forehand strikes that often produced wicked spin. Brady had eight service aces on the day to just two for Gauff.
Brady credited a youth career spent competing against boys for helping her develop a punishing power game.
“When I was younger I practiced with a lot of boys, I grew up only playing with boys,” Brady said. “There wasn’t many girls training where I was when I was younger so I was practicing with a lot of older boys … They play different. They play with more spin, they hit a heavier ball, things like that. So, I think I kind of adapted to the way they play and kind of evolved my game around that.”
Despite Saturday’s loss, it was a strong showing in Kentucky from Gauff, who took the sport by storm last year just a few months after turning 15 years old when she upset Venus Williams in the first round at Wimbledon and advanced to the round of 16. A few months later, Gauff became the youngest player to capture a WTA singles title in 15 years when she won the Linz Open in Australia.
“She’s obviously a great tennis player, she’s so young,” Brady said of Gauff. “I respect her … she’s obviously had a lot of great wins so I think she earned the right to have (that) respect.”
Gauff entered the tournament No. 53 in the WTA rankings and will likely vault into the top 50 after knocking off two of the eight seeded competitors in the Top Seed Open’s 32-player singles field. Gauff toppled No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who’s ranked No. 11 in the world, in the second round and then beat No. 8 seed and 39th-ranked Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals.
“I can take away a lot from this week in general. I learned a lot,” Gauff said during a Zoom teleconference. “I couldn’t ask for a better first week back … These are good stepping-stones and good learning tools that I can use to help prepare for (the U.S. Open.)“
Brady faces a stiff test in Sunday’s finals, where she’ll meet Jil Teichmann, who steamrolled her first four opponents in Nicholasville.
“I’ll tell you what, Jen Brady played some unbelievable tennis. She’s played great all week,” Tennis Channel analyst and former touring professional Paul Annacone said on the network’s post-match studio show. “Teichmann as well. They’ve played the best tennis of the field, both of them.”
Teichmann rolls
Jil Teichmann continued her dominant run at the Top Seed Open in Saturday’s first semifinal, rolling over Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-2, to earn her third trip to a WTA finals.
Teichmann, a 23-year-old from Switzerland who entered the tournament No. 63 in the WTA rankings, triumphed in each of those finals matches in 2019 — the Prague Open and Palermo Ladies Open.
If she continues playing as well as she did in her first four matches in Nicholasville, Teichmann has a great chance to make it 3-for-3. She has not lost a single set this past week and needed just over an hour to dispatch Rogers on Saturday.
Teichmann dropped the first game but won the next four to take command. Rogers, No. 116 in the WTA rankings, struggled to find her footing one day after scoring the biggest win of her career against No. 9 Serena Williams, the tournament’s No. 1 seed.
“Obviously, I have much respect for Shelby. She won a great match yesterday against Serena,” Teichmann told the media during a post-match Zoom teleconference. “I practiced with her a few days ago so I knew she was in good shape … I’m feeling really confident as well, so I actually really just focused on my side.”
Rogers, 27, committed a slew of unforced errors and at one point early in the second set appeared shaken, as she could be heard chastising herself after losing a volley. Teichmann broke Rogers’ serve five times in the match.
“I guess (Rogers) was a bit tired after yesterday’s match, but who isn’t when you’re reaching the semis after a long break,” Teichmann said.
Teichmann expects to face her biggest challenge of the week in Sunday’s showdown with Brady. The pair faced off for the first time last December in the Limoges WTA Challenger in France. Teichmann prevailed in a tight match, pulling out a second-set tiebreaker 7-5, 7-6 (14-12).
“Very powerful player,” Teichmann said of Brady. “Especially her forehand is really strong, a lot of power spin so it’s not easy to find the timing on it … It’s for sure going to be a great battle.”
Top Seed Open
At Top Seed Tennis Club in Nicholasville
11 a.m. Sunday: Singles finals, Jil Teichmann vs. Jennifer Brady; followed by doubles finals, Teichmann and Marie Bouzkova vs. Hayley Carter and Luisa Stefani
TV: Tennis Channel (no spectators)
