US Open 2017: Karolina Pliskova breezes past Jennifer Brady to advance to quarter-finals

Reuters

New York: World number one Karolina Pliskova needed just 46 minutes to defeat American Jennifer Brady 6-1 6-0 at Arthur Ashe Stadium and punch her ticket to the quarter-finals at the U.S. Open on Monday.

After facing a match point during her third-round battle against Zhang Shuai on Saturday, Pliskova was never pushed by Brady, who failed to find her groove on a sunny day that cast a severe shadow across center court.

Brady struggled mightily with her service game, where she was only able to connect on 39 percent of her first serves compared to Pliskova`s 67 percent.

Brady also struggled to read Pliskova`s powerful serve and failed to convert either of her two break point chances.

"I think she was a little bit nervous," Pliskova said of the 22-year-old Brady during an on-court interview following the match.

"It was her first time on Ashe so I tried to take advantage of that."

Next up for Pliskova is either 20th-seeded American CoCo Vandeweghe or fellow Czech Lucie Safarova, who play later on Monday.