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U.S. OPEN

September 2, 2017

Jennifer Brady

New York, NY, USA

J. BRADY/M. Niculescu

6-3, 4-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. That was quite a roller coaster out there. Was it fun? Frustrating playing her? Was it both fun and frustrating? How would you describe how you felt out there?
JENNIFER BRADY: Yeah, I mean, both fun and frustrating. You know, but, I mean, you know, I went into the match. I knew what to expect. It wasn't like I was thrown off guard or anything like that. You know, I knew what was going to come at me. Yeah.

Q. What would you have said or thought if, when you were getting ready to play your first round of qualifying at the Australian Open, you would make the round of 16 in two of four majors this year?
JENNIFER BRADY: Yeah, probably would not have said that. Or if somebody told me that, I probably would not have believed them.

Yeah, I'm just kind of taking it all in and enjoying the moment.

Q. You play Karolina Pliskova next?
JENNIFER BRADY: Yeah.

Q. Talk a little bit about that. Currently No. 1 in the world.
JENNIFER BRADY: Yeah, you know, it's going to be a fun match. You know, it's always an honor to play, you know, the players at the top of the game. Yeah, I'm just going to go out there and have some fun.

Q. When you're playing a No. 1 player, are you in awe at all or do you go with the mindset, hey, I have nothing to lose at this point?
JENNIFER BRADY: I mean, I have never played a No. 1 player in the world. I'm sure I'll feel a little bit of both. I mean, at times, you know, you kind of come back to reality and are, like, on paper, I'm not supposed to win this match.

Yeah, you know, like I said, I'll just go out there and compete and have fun.

Q. I think all of your main draw tour level wins this year have come at the slams. What is it about the slams that gets that out of you? Where do you think the differential is? Why isn't it necessarily happening on the tour level but at the slams you show up?
JENNIFER BRADY: Yeah, I didn't know. I don't know if it's something about the slams or -- honestly, I'm not sure. Like I said earlier today, I'm not complaining (smiling).

I think maybe, you know, it's just, you know, everything kind of just falls in place. Yeah, I'm not really sure why.

Q. How much of Pliskova have you seen? How would you describe her game?
JENNIFER BRADY: Yeah, I mean, she's a big hitter. She has a very good serve. I mean, I haven't watched her play much, but I know obviously she's No. 1 in the world, so it's going to be a tough match.

Q. How would you describe your own game at this point?
JENNIFER BRADY: I mean, I would say I'm an all-court player. I dictate points with my forehand. At times, I can, you know, come up with shots, you know, big shots. Yeah, I like to be on the aggressive side.

Q. Can you just describe how different this whole scene is here and also at the Australian Open, from playing in college, typical college match?
JENNIFER BRADY: Yeah, I mean, it's a lot different, the atmosphere, you know, the level of play.

Everything is different. You know, out there today, it kind of felt like a college match. So that was fun.

You know, I got great support. You know, the crowd was amazing. I enjoyed every moment of it.

Q. Is that why it felt that way, because of the crowd?
JENNIFER BRADY: Yeah.

Q. Can you view her No. 1 ranking a little bit differently only because it's not like she's won a Grand Slam yet? I mean, obviously she's fairly there, but she hasn't had the big win, or that doesn't matter?
JENNIFER BRADY: No. I mean, she's earned her place. You know, she's been doing very well. Yeah, I mean, I don't think -- just because she hasn't won a slam, it's not like she doesn't deserve it or hasn't earned it. I believe she's earned her place there.

Q. Can you kind of describe your college experience? Talk about UCLA, what it was like being there? And secondly, specifically, what's the one thing that Stella gave you the most?
JENNIFER BRADY: Yeah, I mean, you know, my college experience there was -- it was great. You know, like I said the other day, I would go back. If I had the opportunity, you know, to redo the whole process, I would go back to UCLA again. It was just an honor to play for Stella and, you know, it was a fun two years.

I learned a lot on court and off court. I matured a lot, had to do things for myself. Yeah, I mean, I wasn't forced into a schedule like I did at the academy. Yeah, I had to take ownership of things off court. Yeah.

Q. You had us a little bit worried there toward the end of the third set after the fall, lying down for a little bit. What was the first thing that kind of came into your mind once you hit the deck? Was it, am I okay?
JENNIFER BRADY: I don't want to get up (smiling). Yeah, no, it was fine. I wasn't -- it didn't, like, occur to me that, you know, I was on the ground.

I was just, like, oh, I don't want to get up and play right now.

Q. Why?
JENNIFER BRADY: I don't know. It was, just, like, I like it down here on the ground (smiling).

I was tired, and, you know, laying there felt nice. Yeah, you know, it was a tough match mentally and physically. You know, I felt like in that moment I kind of just was, like -- yeah.

Q. A moment ago you were describing your game. What do you think has been the biggest improvement that has enabled you to achieve the results that you have this year, especially at the majors?
JENNIFER BRADY: I think being able to commit to my shots and, you know, trusting myself and my game.

You know, knowing that if I make a few errors, you know, it's going to happen. And just, you know, throughout the whole match, just continuing to believe in myself, you know, and trust the process.

Q. How have you done that? How have you gotten to that point where you have committed, have had the confidence?
JENNIFER BRADY: Well, I mean, it's taken a lot of, you know, just sessions, talking about, you know, my game, myself. More of the mental side than the tennis side. I feel like that's what's been the big difference.

Q. Just to clarify something from the other day, you said when you moved to Florida from Harrisburg, it wasn't just for the tennis, but you did go to Evert Academy when you moved. Was that the sequence of that?
JENNIFER BRADY: Yeah, pretty much. We moved to Weston, Florida. Lived there for maybe half a year and then went to Boca Raton. My dad actually got a job working at the academy. He was working there, and I went out and was hitting some balls and eventually trained there for six years, yeah.

Q. They didn't know of you when you came down? You just started there a little bit after you had been in Florida? They saw your potential?
JENNIFER BRADY: Correct, yes.

Q. Going back to the fall, on that match point, did you notice that you were bleeding on your left knee? It had the look of kind of an end of a Rocky movie.
JENNIFER BRADY: On a tennis court.

Q. Did you notice at all?
JENNIFER BRADY: No, I didn't even notice.

Q. Was it after the match that maybe you saw that?
JENNIFER BRADY: Yeah, I saw it afterwards. I mean, I just looked down, saw I was bleeding. Yeah, I just had to wipe it up.

Q. Did you have any early experiences coming to the US Open as a younger person? When you were young, who did you look up to or admire in the women's game?
JENNIFER BRADY: No, I mean, when I was younger, I never came to the US Open. But I really enjoyed watching Justine Henin play and Kim Clijsters.

Q. Did you have any relationship with Elise Burgin? She's lived in Harrisburg for a long time.
JENNIFER BRADY: No sorry. I don't know who that is.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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