SAN DIEGO — Jennifer Brady’s comeback continues to gather momentum.
After being sidelined for more than two years, the former world No. 13 and 2021 Australian Open finalist earned her third win in three days on Friday, defeating Canadian Cadence Brace, 7-5, 6-4, to advance to the semifinals of the ITF-100 at Barnes Tennis Center.
“Obviously not playing for over two years, it’s been challenging to work myself into a match, just finding confidence again in my game and playing my style,” Brady said. “So I was happy with how I played yesterday, and today was a little bit up and down, but I think I played the big points well, and that helped me in the end.”
Brady set the tone early, playing clean, aggressive tennis to take the first set. She carried that momentum into the second, breaking Brace in the opening game and holding serve to build a 2-0 lead.
Brace responded midway through the set, breaking Brady in the sixth game to level the score at 3-3. Brady answered immediately. On her third break-point opportunity in the following game, she broke back to regain control at 4-3.
Both players held serve from there, but the extra break proved decisive. Brady served out the match to close the straight-sets victory, continuing an encouraging run in her first return to tournament play since 2023.
“I’m actually feeling a little bit better than I was expecting,” Brady said. “Physically I feel good, mentally I feel good. My expectations coming into the tournament were pretty low, considering I hadn’t played in over two years, so I’m pretty pleased with how I’ve been playing so far.”
Next Up
Brady will face Elvina Kalieva in Saturday’s semifinal. Kalieva defeated top seed Louisa Chirico earlier Friday, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3.
Jennifer Brady attacks in her win over Cadence Brace at the San Diego Open. Credit: San Diego Open
