JENNIFER BRADY ADVANCES TO SECOND ROUND OF DOW TENNIS CLASSIC

No. 2 seed Jennifer Brady advanced to the second round of the Dow Tennis Classic on Wednesday, after defeating Su Jeong Jang, 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2.

In the first set, both Brady and Jang stayed on serve until late in the first set when they traded breaks. Brady was able to close out the opening set in a tie-break 7-6(2).

In the second set, both players continued to break serve, until Jang was finally able to capitalize on her momentum and close out the set 6-4.

In the final and decisive set, Jang took an early 2-0 lead, before Brady broke back and took the next six games to close out the match with a final score of 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2.

Competing for her second time in Midland, Brady is now safely through to the second round. The American had played Jang before in the past, and knew she was in for a tough match.

“I feel like mentally and physically I was just a little bit better than her today,” said Brady.

The 22-year old American is currently ranked No. 90 in the world and reached a career-high ranking of No. 60 in the world this past October. In 2017 she reached the fourth round at both the Australian Open and US Open.

Brady hold eight ITF Pro Circuit singles and doubles titles overall (four in singles, four in doubles) with her most recent coming in 2016 (Granby, Canada). Brady now faces Canadian Francoise Abanda. The world No. 126 defeated Danielle Rose Collins 6-2, 6-2 earlier in the afternoon. Brady and Abanda have yet to play each other in their careers, but Brady is up for the challenge.

“She is really good on the baseline and has a great serve. So I will just have to go out there and compete well,” said Brady.