American world No.41 Jennifer Brady has continued her impressive summer form in New York, confidently beating three-time major champion Angelique Kerber 6-1 6-4 in the fourth round of the US Open to reach her first singles quarterfinal at a Grand Slam.
The 28th-seeded Brady blitzed through the first set in 22 minutes and opened the second set with a break.
Seed No.17 Kerber finally endangered Brady’s serve and broke back to level to 1-1, but the German conceded her service game once again as Brady went 3-1 up. Even though the second set was much more competitive than the first, Brady firmly held on to that early-established lead and eliminated the 2016 champion in straight sets, on her second match point.
Brady has been one of the most impressive servers on tour in 2020 and entered the encounter with Kerber having dropped just 14 games at the US Open, the fewest of any player remaining in the top half. The 25-year-old was particularly impressive during recent Lexington title run when she won 40 of 43 service games – just the tenth tournament champion in the past decade to win at 93% or more of her service games.
The victory over Kerber is Brady’s fourth this year over a former world No.1 — this season she also defeated Maria Sharapova and Ashleigh Barty in Brisbane and Garbine Muguruza in Dubai. (photo: Jimmie48)
I kinda knew Brady will have a break through the moment I saw her beating Sharapova earlier this year, her game plan was solid and definitely world class champ material!
On top of that, Kerber is a tough opponent, her balls can change direction, n Angie can turn defense into an offesive shot, so kudos to Brady to get thru against the toughest counterpuncher on the tour rn!