America’s Jennifer Brady beats Coco Gauff to reach first WTA final

American Jennifer Brady defeated compatriot Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4 at the Top Seed Open on Saturday, earning a spot in her first WTA final.

The outdoor, hard court tournament in Lexington, Kentucky, marks the first WTA event in the United States since the coronavirus outbreak forced a hiatus and upended the professional sports calendar.

World no. 49 Brady used a powerful serve to her advantage over Gauff at the fanless tournament, firing off eight aces and winning nearly 85% of her first-serve points, to set up a final clash with Switzerland`s Jil Teichmann.

“I`ve been working a little bit on all aspects of the serve, mainly the stroke and the timing of the serve, more technique, things like that,” said Brady. “If I`m able to serve well, I`m able to start the point aggressive, start it in my favor.”

Teichmann, who won both of her two WTA titles at clay court tournaments last year, defeated American Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-2 to earn her final berth.

“Obviously everyone thinks I`m just a clay court player – I think I`ve proven it`s not only this way,” the 23-year-old said. “I`ve been feeling great on hard courts since the beginning of the year… My goal was just to keep on this level.”

Brady and Teichmann face off on Sunday.