American through to the last four without dropping a set and will face Naomi Osaka next
Wednesday 9 September 2020 07:18, UK
Jennifer Brady charged into her first Grand Slam semi-final after beating Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-2 at the US Open.
The 25-year-old American will face Naomi Osaka for a place in the final after the fourth seed, looking to regain the title she won in 2018, beat Shelby Rogers 6-3 6-4.
It means Osaka remains on course for a potential blockbuster final against Serena Williams, a repeat of the controversial final of two years ago.
Brady, who has yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows, is the first former college player to reach the women's quarter-finals at the US Open since Gigi Fernandez in 1994.
I'm thrilled to be in the semi-finals of the US Open. I'm just taking it one match at a time, but I'm very happy.
In contrast to Brady's joy, Putintseva cut a frustrated figure at the other side of the net. The 23rd seed was clearly irked by the fact that she was not able to get into her groove against a player she had beaten twice before.
"Today I was a lot more aggressive, especially on the first ball," Brady said after her victory.
"I was trying to be as aggressive as possible. The last couple of times that I played her, I got caught into playing her game."
Brady admitted she arrived on court for the quarter-final with nerves flying around, but said she was pleased with how she managed them.
"I tried to treat it like all of the other matches," she said.
"I tried to pretend like it was a first-round match. I was happy with the way that I started, I was able to find momentum and build from it."
Osaka had lost her previous three meetings with Rogers but was in no mood to make it a fourth, securing the crucial break in the first set with a blistering angled forehand.
She broke again early in the second as Rogers, playing in her first US Open quarter-final, sent a backhand wide, and wrapped up victory in an hour and 19 minutes.
Osaka said: "For me honestly I felt she had the upper hand as I'd never beaten her, those memories stuck in my mind so it feels like a little bit of revenge.
"I'm really glad I was able to have a much more positive attitude tonight. I feel pretty good. All the matches are really tough, it's made me really grateful to be in this position."
Don't forget to follow us on skysports.com/tennis, our Twitter account @skysportstennis & Sky Sports - on the go! Available to download now on - iPhone & iPad and Android.
