US OPEN

September 10, 2020

Jennifer Brady

Press Conference

N. OSAKA/J. Brady

7-6, 3-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. The other day you mentioned that your mother was proud of you. What are you most proud of from these two weeks?

JENNIFER BRADY: I think I'm just proud of my effort, that I treated each match as, you know, the same, came in with the same mentality. The only goal I had was just to compete on every single point. I felt like that's what I did. I'm leaving here pretty proud.

Q. What is your takeaway from tonight's match? How hard you fought against Naomi? What did she do so right against you in the crucial moments?

JENNIFER BRADY: Yeah, you know, I think it was a really tough match. I think we both played pretty well. I think the worst part was probably the tiebreak in the first set for me. I played a pretty bad tiebreak.

After the first set, I was thinking about it on the changeover, before the second set. I was like, it was a pretty good set from both of us. It was just unfortunate I didn't play that great in the tiebreak.

But I was able to recover from that and win the second set. Then I think she just played too good in the third. I played a loose game to get broken in the third set, was trying to break back. I think maybe in that last game I had some chances, but wasn't able to do it.

Q. How do you feel that you handled the occasion of tonight? Obviously you're the one that didn't have the experience of a slam semifinal. On the whole, the lead-up, preparation, in the match, how did you feel?

JENNIFER BRADY: I think I handled the situation pretty well. I mean, I was obviously pretty nervous, playing here on Arthur Ashe, night match, semifinals, a match to play for the finals of the US Open.

I felt like I went out there and I believed that I could win the match. Obviously I didn't, but I'm pretty happy with myself, with my effort, and my mentality these past couple weeks.

Q. The reaction on the whole to the match has been incredibly positive. There's been people saying it's the best women's match of the year, the quality was incredibly high. How do you manage playing a match like that, first-strike tennis, indoor with the roof closed on a fast court, what made that match different to play?

JENNIFER BRADY: I felt like we were both serving pretty well. It really was just about making first serves, first ball after that. I think, like you said, first-strike tennis. It was who was the more aggressive player on every single point. I think it rewarded the more aggressive player.

Maybe she was the more aggressive player today. She played, you know, cleaner at times. I think it was a pretty high-quality match from both of us.

Q. Looking ahead towards the clay season, how much do you feel like you need to kind of not think about tennis for a little while? Are you planning to head straight on over there and get back to work on the clay?

JENNIFER BRADY: I would love to play tomorrow, but I think I'm going to take a little bit of time, practice and train on the clay before I start playing tournaments. I'll train a little bit. Looking to play French Open.

Q. I think you kept hitting the ball really hard and clean today. In the previous matches, I think you hit more dropshots and slices. Did you choose that kind of strategy? Did you have any different kind of plan but you couldn't do that?

JENNIFER BRADY: I felt like I was trying to mix it up when I could. She just hits such a big ball, it comes so fast. I think I didn't hit as many forehands as I would have liked to today from the middle of the court.

Yeah, I went in with a game plan, and I think I was able to execute that game plan, but just didn't come out with the result.

Q. Obviously Naomi is magnificent. What makes her so magnificent?

JENNIFER BRADY: I'd say she's just aggressive, plays a big game. She has a really good serve. When her serve's on, it's really tough to break her. She puts pressure on you to hold your serve because you know that you're getting very minimal looks at her serve when she's serving.

I think, you know, it's just the aggressiveness that she brings, yeah.

Q. You have been the talk of Harrisburg and central PA this week. It isn't really a hotbed for tennis. Do you think your success and all the hype this week is going to inspire young kids from this area?

JENNIFER BRADY: I sure hope so. I came from small town Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. I hope in maybe 10 years I'll be watching the US Open and seeing somebody from another small town, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Hanover, wherever, in central PA. I hope so, yeah.