O'Brien On Form At Flushing Meadows

There was delight for Katie O’Brien at the US Open as she saw off her Japanese opponent Misaki Doi in straight sets 7-6, 6-1 in the second round of qualifying. O’Brien went 5-2 up in the first set, but Doi managed to bring the match back and force a tie-break, which O’Brien won 7-5.

O’Brien didn’t pack any punches in the second set though and went 5-0 up before losing a service game. She broke straight back to take the match and take a place in the final round of qualies – the first time she has ever done that at the US Open.

After the match a delighted Katie said: “I started off really well. I was in the right frame of mind and I warmed up really well. I was prepared for a tough match because I knew she hadn’t dropped a game in her first match and so she was obviously on form.

“I really stuck to my game plan and mixed it up really well. I went 5-2 up in the first set and had a bit of a wobble and a bit of a mental implosion. But I managed to hold it together and just scrape through the first set. Then that gave me the confidence to start off well in the 2nd. I was trying to give myself as big a cushion as I could (in the second set). I dropped my serve at 5-0, but I was confident that I could close it out.

“I’m really exited about tomorrow – it’s my 1st time – I’ve never been in the final round of qualies at the US Open – I’ve never done that well here before. I’m really looking forward to it and carrying the same mindset as I have been the last couple of matches.

“I’ve had a few battles against her (Olga Savchuk) before and come out on the losing end, so it would be nice to get some revenge tomorrow!”

Her coach Nigel Sears added: “I thought Katie played a very good match here today. She was always driving with points right from the beginning and going for her shots. She’ll be very confident going into final round of qualies tomorrow.”