Brady beats Gauff in Lexington  to reach first WTA final

An all-American semifinal at the Top Seed Open presented by Bluegrass Orthopaedics on Saturday went the way of Jennifer Brady, who used a dominant day on serve to beat Coco Gauff, 6-2, 6-4. 

The victory earned the 25-year-old world No. 49 a berth in her first career WTA singles final, after having previously been 0-3 in semifinals.

"I've been working really hard since the beginning of the year. I've been putting in a lot of hours on the practice courts and in the gym, and hopefully, everything just falls into place," Brady told reporters in a virutal press conference after the match. 

"Reaching a final at any tournament, I think, is a great opportunity. I've given myself the best opportunity, and hopefully, I come out and play well tomorrow."

The elder American's success behind the point-starting shot was truly what made the difference over the course of the 71-minute match, as she struck eight aces and was broken just once.

Brady won 85 percent of the points behind her first serve in the match, and was particularly effective behind it in the second set, dropping just four points in five service games overall.

"I've been working a little bit on all aspects of the serve, mainly the stroke and the timing of the serve," Brady said. "More technique, things like that. If I’m able to serve well, I’m able to start the point aggressive and start in my favor, looking for forehands and being in control of the point from the very first shot."

The career milestone is the latest in several for Brady already in the shortened 2020 season, as she picked up victories against world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, Elina Svitolina, Garbiñe Muguruza and Maria Sharapova and reached a career-high ranking of world No. 45 prior to the tour's hiatus. 

In Sunday's championship, Brady will face Swiss left-hander Jil Teichmann, ranked No. 63 in the world. The 23-year-old beat American Shelby Rogers, 6-3, 6-2 in Saturday's other semifinal. The pair split two meetings in WTA matches last year, and Teichmann bids for her third WTA singles title.