Brady reaches first WTA final in Top Seed Open

Jennifer Brady of the United States hits a return during the women's singles second round match against Ons Jabeur of Tunisia at the 2020 WTA Qatar Open in Doha, Qatar, Feb. 25, 2020. (Photo by Nikku/Xinhua)

Brady reaches first WTA final in Top Seed Open.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- American Jennifer Brady will contest a WTA singles final for the first time in her career, after beating compatriot Cori Gauff 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday in the semifinal of the Top Seed Open in Lexington, Kentucky.

The 25-year-old Brady will face Jil Teichmann, a 23-year-old two-time WTA champion from Switzerland, in Sunday's title 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." Brady said after the match.

"Regardless of the outcome - I'm going to show up, give my best and see what happens - but it's very ideal for me to get a lot of matches before the US Open. I'm really pleased with the week so far," added Brady.

Teichmann reached the third final of her career by eliminating Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-2 in the day's opening semifinal. The 116th-ranked Rogers was coming off a quarterfinal upset of Serena Williams on Friday.

Both of Teichmann's previous WTA titles came on clay in 2019, at Palermo, Italy, and Prague, Czech Republic.

As for her 2-0 record in past WTA finals, Teichmann said: "That doesn't mean anything, (but) for sure, I'm going to the final confident." ■