LIMOGES, France – No.4 seed Jennifer Brady made quick work of Kaia Kanepi to progress to the second round of the Open BLS De Limoges with a 6-2, 6-2 victory.
The WTA World No.55 required less than an hour on court to defeat an opponent also ranking in the Top 100.
There was little to pick between the two players in the opening four games, which were shared evenly.
Critically, Kanepi missed two opportunities to break in the third game. These would prove to be the only chances she would get over the course of the match.
Brady moved ahead by breaking to 15 on Kanepi’s delivery, held her own serve then broke again with similar comfort to secure the opening set.
She then began the second positively, sweeping the first three games for the loss of only four points before the Estonian got on the board.
While pressure was continually being applied by the 24-year-old, Kanepi was holding firm, even gritting her teeth to save a couple of match points when serving at 2-5.
Despite her resilience, it was Brady who emerged victorious in straight sets.
It was a day of quick matches, with fellow seeds Bernarda Pera and Anna Blinkova also going through in straight sets. Pera overcame home player Chloe Paquet, 6-3, 6-3, while Blinkova had earlier defeated Natalia Vikhlyantseva, 6-3, 7-5.
Kicking things off on Tuesday, Aliaksandra Sasnovich had moved through in 54 minutes against qualifier Isabella Shinikova, 6-2, 6-1, while Sara Sorribes Tormo upset No.3 seed Alison Van Uytvanck, 6-4, 6-4 in a match that lasted one hour 44 minutes and was the longest of the day.
