NEW YORK — American Jennifer Brady said she was nervous at the start of her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal, but it didn’t show.
Brady notched the biggest victory yet in her breakout run at the US Open, beating Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan on Tuesday, 6-3, 6-2.
Seeded 28th, Brady dominated from the baseline to take leads of 4-0 in the first set and 2-0 in the second against Putintseva, who won their two previous meetings.
“The last couple of times I played her, I got caught in playing her game,” Brady said. “I don’t think I’m better at her at running, so I definitely was a lot more aggressive today.”
Brady used powerful groundstrokes off both sides for a 22-7 edge in winners, helping to keep rallies shorter than in their previous meetings.
“I came out with nerves. I think she did, too,” Brady said. “I just tried to pretend it was a first-round match, and I was happy with the way I started. Then I was able to keep the momentum and build off of that.”
Brady’s opponent Thursday will be winner of Tuesday night’s match between two-time major champion Naomi Osaka and American Shelby Rogers, who is ranked 93rd.
Brady, 25, is playing in her 13th Grand Slam event and is seeded in a major tournament for the first time. The native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, trained as a youngster at the Evert Tennis Academy in Florida and played for the UCLA Bruins on their 2014 NCAA championship team.