Brady Stops Coco In Lexington, Will Battle Teichmann For Title

Coco Gauff’s Lexington run ended today in the semifinals at the hand of a red-hot Jen Brady who blasted past the teen 6-2, 6-4 to reach her first career WTA title match.

“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 stated.

“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 25-year-old Brady hasn’t dropped more than four games in any single set in four matches thus far. She was 0-3 previous in WTA semifinals.

Gauff was trying to make her second career WTA final after winning Linz last fall.

“Jenny just played a great match, and I can take away a lot from this week in general. I couldn’t have asked for a better week back,” the 16-year-old said. “I feel like today was the best that I was striking my forehand all week, so that’s something I can take away from this.

“Her serve is great. She hits her targets really well. In particular today, she was hitting both her serves pretty well. I was just trying to get them back in the court, but it didn’t work out. She’s definitely Top 5 on my list, at least of people I’ve played so far.”

For her first title, Brady now gets Jil Teichmann. The Swiss knocked out Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-2 a day after the American stunned Serena Williams.

Teichmann will bid for her third career title, her first on hard courts.

“I’ve been feeling great on hardcourts since the beginning of the year, and I was starting to have results,” Teichmann said. “So I was on the right way. But all this coronavirus pandemic made it stop, and same for everyone.

“My goal was just to get back into this level and show it again.”