US Open WTA Match of the Day: Jennifer Brady vs. CiCi Bellis

Thanks to several pre tournament withdrawals, and to the delight of all the seeded players in the draw, Jennifer Brady went from the tournaments most dangerous floater to the No. 28 seed. The former UCLA Bruin impressed in her first round with a routine 6-3, 6-2 win over Anna Blinkova, and will now face a resurgent Catherine “CiCi” Bellis, who has looked crisp and clean in her return to tennis following an 18-month injury battle.

Bellis dug deep in her opening round to post a 6-7 (13), 6-3, 6-2 victory over Tamara Korpatsch, but things won’t get any easier against Brady, who is arguably playing the best tennis of any American in the tournament. While Brady is certainly the favorite, she lost to Bellis in their only prior meeting at the 2018 Sydney International qualifiers. As well as Brady is playing, she still prefers time to wind up her massive forehand. Bellis, who takes shots early and is aggressive as often as she can, will attempt to take time away from Brady, and neutralize her overwhelming power.

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Bellis, who shocked the world in 2014 by reaching the US Open's second round at just 15 years old, has been steadily returning to her former top-50 level. If Bellis’ serve holds up, she could cause problems for Brady, if it doesn’t, things will likely go south in a hurry. Brady will eat up a slow-moving second serve.

While this match promises to be entertaining, Bellis will need to level up come Wednesday, as Brady has already defeated a slew of excellent players in 2020, including Ash Barty, Elina Svitolina, Garbine Muguruza, and Coco Gauff. Brady is a baller, and is poised to make a deep run in the US Open bubble.

The Pick: Jennifer Brady