Brady 'emotional' on returning to US Open after injury nightmare wih Osaka semi-final memories: "But they were good emotions"

“I’m back at the US Open, ready to play the tournament for the first time in three years following a very tough period of injuries,”

“I’ve been on-site at the tennis the last few days and I got to practise on Arthur Ashe stadium. It was my first time on Ashe in three years and I was really excited just to be on that court hitting; it was really cool to experience that again,”

The American recalled her painful defeat in the semifinals of the 2021 US Open against eventual champion Naomi Osaka. Brady, who entered as the 28th seed, reached that stage in a Grand Slam for the first time and fell 6-7, 6-3, 3-6.

“Of course, it was emotional stepping back on that court but they were good emotions because the last match I played there was the semi-final against Naomi Osaka and, to me, that was probably one of the best matches that I've ever played, even though I lost.”

Within the first five minutes of my hit on Ashe this week, I was already smiling pretty big and happy to just to be out there and hitting again,” Brady claimed.

“What I remember from that semi-final against Naomi is that it was such a high-quality match, from the very first point all the way to the end. Both of us were in the zone, dialled in, and it was just really high-quality tennis. I was moving well, playing well, feeling the ball. Just really enjoying it,” Brady added.

“It was 2020, so it was unfortunate that we had no fans in the stadium, but I hope I get the chance to come out and play on Ashe again this year, and hopefully many more times. It will probably be more emotional, having fans there and playing in front of a crowd and a little bit more nerves, but I think looking back, that match was probably one of the best matches either one of us has ever played.”

“Foot and knee injuries kept me out of action for two years, and now that I’ve returned to the tour, it’s hard not to keep going back and thinking, ‘Oh, I'm not doing this, I'm not hitting my forehand the way I used to, I'm not serving the way I used to, I'm not moving the way I used to’, and it's hard mentally to just keep looking back and comparing where I'm at now to where I was three years ago playing this tournament.”

“The two years I spent on the sidelines were really s*****.”

I love tennis, I love everything about it, and I love competing, and there's nothing that can replicate the emotion and the adrenaline of just stepping on centre court and competing and playing tennis; it's just an indescribable feeling,” added Brady.