Easygoing Jennifer Brady makes it look easy in second round of US Open

NEW YORK— Most pros will say that playing in their home Slam is a dream come true, especially those on the younger side. But for 22-year-old American Jennifer Brady, who in her US Open main-draw debut has reached the third round, that’s just not the case.

“Honestly, when I was growing up, I didn't even know what the US Open was,” the refreshingly honest Brady said after a commanding, 6-1, 6-1 win over 23rd seed Barbora Strycova on Thursday. “Nobody in my family plays tennis or knows much about tennis, they just learned as I grew up playing.

“I never dreamed of playing in the US Open. I never saw myself here.”

You may already know Brady’s name. Earlier this year, the former UCLA Bruin made it through qualifying at the Australian Open, then won three more matches before falling to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the fourth round.

“It was huge for me because it was the beginning of the year, my first main draw Slam,” Brady said. “Coming through the qualifying was a big confidence booster.”

Another round of 16 at a major is in sight, this time in New York. Brady first battled over two days, owing to the rain delay on Tuesday, to take out veteran Andrea Petkovic. On Thursday, she crushed Strycova in just 55 minutes, converting six of eight break chances.

Despite her ranking of No. 91 and the experience of her opponents, Brady has been both optimistic and opportunistic.

“When I saw the draw, I didn't think much about it,” Brady said. “I just have to do my preparation and hopefully I play well.”

It was a response that's the definition of easygoing, and that’s exactly who Brady is. She describes herself as “pretty chill,” and hee powerful game is a contrast to her casual vibe off the court.

“She has a modern game, an athletic game,” Brady’s coach at UCLA, Rance Brown, said earlier this year. “I think the women’s game is a few years behind the men, where they incorporate spin and really swing out. Brady’s game really fits into that.

“For a tall, athletic girl, her mobility is excellent. She’s fearless. And she doesn’t take herself too seriously.”

Brady didn’t see herself as pro prospect until she was 16, fairly late for most tour players. She honed her game at the Evert Academy in Boca Raton, and then accepted a spot on the UCLA team, playing two years before turning pro in 2015.

Homeschooled for most of her life, Brady learned a lot from her stint in college.

“Those two years were crucial for me as a person, on and off the court,” said Brady. “I think I matured a lot just being thrown into college. I did online schooling since sixth grade, so I was never in a classroom for high school taking notes, things like that—just learning how to interact with humans.”

Social challenges and growth spurts behind her, Brady has now turned her full attention to navigating the pro tour. And it’s paying off, having maintained a spot inside the Top 100 for most of 2017.

“At the beginning of the year I sat down and talked about what my goals were and one of them was to make the second week of Grand Slams,” said Brady. “After doing that in Australia, hopefully I can do that again here.”

With unseeded Ana Bogdan or unseeded Monica Niculescu next, Brady hopes to maintain her unbeaten main-draw record in Flushing Meadows and reach her second-week goal.

But for the easy-going, hard-hitting Brady, that's not the only objective.

“One of my goals is to just have fun and play and just to see how good I can be,” Brady said. “I'm not playing for a number or a ranking or anything like that. It's just to see how good I can really be.”

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