New York (USA) – In her third appearance at the US Open doubles, Luísa Stefani holds the record for having reached at least the quarter-finals in each of them. Playing this year alongside American Jennifer Brady, Stefani celebrated her third victory in the tournament. This Sunday they beat the German Tatjana Maria and the Dutch Arantxa Rus by 6/3, 3/6 and 6/3 in 1h50 of departure.

Paulista, 26 and the top Brazilian in the doubles rankings, currently in 14th place, Stefani had already reached the quarter-finals in 2020, alongside American Hayley Carter, and was a semi-finalist in 2021, with the Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski. Two seasons ago, she suffered a serious knee injury and went a year without playing, thus missing the last edition of the tournament.

Stefani’s partner at this US Open, Jennifer Brady is also returning to the US Open after suffering from left foot and right knee injuries. The 28-year-old American went almost two seasons without playing. She was a singles semi-finalist in New York in 2020 and a runner-up at the Australian Open the following year. The next opponents could be the Polish Magda Linette and the North American left-hander Bernarda Pera or a pair from the house, formed by Sophie Chang and Alycia Parks.

As It’s already happened in the first two games., Brady tried to be firm on serve and also in the exchanges from the back, while Stefani was responsible for the main actions near the net. On the other hand, veteran Tatjana Maria is a player used to slices, shorts and volleys, while Rus has been more supportive of the back game, participating in a few rallies with Brady. With 1.80 m, the Dutch was the best waitress of the opposing team.

The match started very well for Stefani and Brady, who broke early and won 3-0. And even against three break points, they kept the advantage until the end of the set. Already in the second part, Rus and Maria saw their serve threatened four times, but managed to save themselves and went after the break at the end of the set.

The reaction of the opponents did not shake the confidence of Stefani and Brady. From the start, they got a break and led 3-0 in the last set. They were even leading 5/1, losing their first chance to serve of the game, serving the Brazilian, but the good advantage built up allowed for another opportunity. With Brady serving, they reversed a 15-40 and defined victory in three sets.