Jennifer Brady avenges defeat against Jelena Ostapenko at Canadian Open 2 years after match against Latvian caused injury break

Jennifer Brady defeated Jelena Ostapenko in the first round of the 2023 Canadian Open on August 7.

The American is making her comeback on the WTA tour after nearly two years on the sidelines due to injury. She is competing at the WTA 1000 level tournament in Montreal via a protected ranking.

Brady faced a familiar foe on Monday in the form of Jelena Ostapenko, against whom she played her last WTA tour match before going on a hiatus.

Brady won the first set in a tiebreaker 9-7 but the Latvian roared back in the second, bageling her opponent 6-0 to level the tie. The third set also went into a tiebreaker, which Brady again managed to grab 10-8, thus winning the contest, 7-6 (7), 0-6, 7-6 (8).

The victory marked a full circle moment for Brady, who had to retire mid-match against Ostapenko in the second round at the 2021 Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati despite leading 7-6 (2), 4-5. The 28-year-old suffered a fracture in her right knee and a tear in her left foot, which kept her out of action for nearly 2 years.

Brady will next face World No. 3 Elena Rybakina in the second round on August 9.

"I have no idea how I won that match" - Jennifer Brady

Jennifer Brady at the Canadian Open

Jennifer Brady said after the match that she was stunned by how she managed to beat Jelena Ostapenko. The former World No. 13 also claimed she was not satisfied with her performance.

"I have no idea how I won that match. On the court I don't feel like I'm moving as good as I want to, I'm not hitting the ball as deep or heavy as I want to. I'm not playing good tennis, I'm just playing tennis. That's how I feel on court," Brady said.

However, Brady admitted that she was delighted to secure the win against the same person she played her last WTA Tour match before injury.

"I knew it was the last match I played before I was injured. I was really looking forward to it. I wish I could have played a better match, but who cares. People only look at the result, so I'm happy that I somehow won this match," she said.

Brady returned to professional tennis at the ITF Canada 03A event in July and won her first match against Kyoka Okamura. The former Australian Open finalist marked her return to the WTA Tour at the Citi Open last week and looked flawless as she trounced Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina in the opening round 6-2, 6-1. However, No. 7 seed Madison Keys beat Brady 6-4, 6-0 in the second round.

Jennifer Brady is currently ranked World No. 584 in singles.