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U.S. Open: Svitolina serves her way past Keys into quarter-finals

Svitolina

New York, Sept. 2, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina delivered a solid serving performance to beat American Madison Keys 7-5 6-4 on Sunday and secure a spot in the U.S. Open quarter-finals.

Keys, who finished runnerup in 2017, struggled with her backhand and Svitolina won 92 per cent of her first serve points.

She also did not face a single break point during the 75-minute clash under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights.

“Very pleased that I could play very consistent tonight and in such a great atmosphere is very special,” said Svitolina, who capped the match in style when she served out to love.

With the win, Svitolina is the first Ukrainian woman to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals since Kateryna Bondarenko in 2009.

Up next for Svitolina will be Briton Johanna Konta, who upset Czech third seed Karolina Pliskova earlier on Sunday. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/MZA

Edited by Maharazu Ahmed

Sport

Barty outplays Keys to reach French Open semi-finals

Tennis
Paris, June 6, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Australian eighth seed Ashleigh Barty reached her first Grand Slam semi-final as she outplayed error-prone American Madison Keys 6-3 7-5 at the French Open on Thursday.

In a quarter-final clash postponed from Wednesday because of heavy rain, Barty produced an intelligent display full of guile in the Court Suzanne Lenglen sunshine.

Barty’s greater variety proved too much for 2018 semi-finalist Keys whose power game broke down at the vital moments.

The only blemish came when she failed to serve out the match in the second set but she recovered her poise to complete victory.

It helped her set up a semi-final against American teenager Amanda Anisimova, who beat reigning champion Simona Halep.

“It was a really clean match,” Barty, who returned to the sport three years ago after stopping to play cricket, told reporters. “I felt I was in control.

“I got the balls I wanted, and I was able to put the balls in difficult positions for Maddie. Really, really happy with how we went about it.”

While 14th seed Keys, bidding to reach her fifth Grand Slam semi-final, usually overpowers opponents with her potent serve and flat groundstrokes, Barty prefers something else.

The Australian uses her range of slice, topspin and clever placement to outfox her rivals.

She seized control of the match in the seventh game when Keys struck a backhand wide at 30-30.

Then the American failed to punish a short ball and Barty, who had stood her ground in the left corner, smashed a stunning backhand winner to break.

Keys was looking flustered and short of ideas but she produced a venomous forehand winner to hold for 2-2 in the second set.

That was after Barty had earned a break point with a loopy, angled forehand that dragged Keys way out of court.

Barty’s sliced backhand is one of the best on the women’s tour and she used it to cutting effect to drag Keys into areas of the court she did not want to be.

Keys lost patience at 3-3 and blazed a forehand long, then a backhand to offer up the break of serve.

Barty had not even faced a break point on her own serve but, with victory in sight at 5-4, she finally let the nerves show with a double-fault.

She then made a forehand error to gift Keys a lifeline that had looked unlikely.

Keys could hardly believe that she had been handed a lifeline.

But she failed to grab it and dropped serve immediately with a double fault to allow Barty to serve for the match again.

This time the Australian reeled off four straight points to reach the semi-finals.

She is the highest-ranked player left, but Barty knows there is still a long way to go before Saturday’s final.

First she must do her homework for a semi-final against Anisimova, whom she has seen in action for all of 20 minutes.

“I’ll sit down with my coach tonight and try and work out a game plan, try and work out ways that I can be effective against her,” the 23-year-old Queenslander said.

“It’s a new situation for me. It’s a little bit of a new territory. But I will prepare and do the best that I can to keep it normal.” (Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Australian Open: Svitolina masters Keys to unlock passage to last eight

Victory

Melbourne (Australia), Jan. 21, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Elina Svitolina recovered after dropping the second set to secure a place in the Australian Open quarter-finals with a 6-2 1-6 6-1 victory over American Madison Keys on Monday.

The sixth seed, who has claimed 13 tour titles including at 2018 WTA Finals in Singapore, has struggled to make an impact at the Grand Slams.

However, the Ukrainian is now hoping to progress beyond the last eight at a major for the first time.

“(Singapore) gave me a huge boost of confidence, so I don’t think about the other, the past anymore,” the 24-year-old Svitolina told reporters.

“I only look forward. I look for next challenge. I try to win as many matches as I can, as many titles as I can, and this is the goal for the year.”

Reaching the last four will be a tough task, however, with Svitolina next meeting U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka.

The Japanese fourth seed defeated Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 4-6 6-3 6-4 in their fourth round encounter.

Svitolina started brightly and raced to a 4-0 lead with two early breaks of serve as her 17th-seeded American opponent struggled to find her range and rhythm.

After returning to the court from a medical timeout to have her toe taped up, Svitolina converted her second set point when Keys found the net with a return as she registered her 11th unforced error of the match.

Svitolina was wobbling but the tenacious base-liner dug deep to save five break points in a marathon third game of the decider lasting more than 16 minutes, the vital hold giving her the impetus to kick on for victory.

“I knew that I had to be strong mentally and physically in that point, because the sun was very strong in that side.

“And I knew that I’m going to have a chance on the next game on her serve,” Svitolina added.

The inability to secure the break appeared to knock the stuffing out of the 2017 U.S. Open finalist in the next game as the American committed three more unforced errors.

Sensing victory, Svitolina did not allow Keys any more opportunities and broke again in the sixth game before converting her first match point to seal the contest in an hour and 36 minutes.

“I always try to put pressure on the opponent. I think I’m in quarter-final because I have been solid in all the matches.

“It worked really good,” added Svitolina, who performed a celebratory dance after securing the win.

“I try to be there all the time with my game, try to bring the best. And I know that I can challenge good players and I can win.

“The Singapore week showed that I can be, you know, out there and winning tough matches.”

Svitolina and Osaka have met five times before with the Ukrainian holding a 3-2 lead in their head-to-head rivalry. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/EEE

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Edited by Ese E. Ekama

Sport

American Keys wants place on WTA Players’ Council

Keys

Melboirne (Australia),  As a self-described woman of opinions, Madison Keys put her hand up for a place on the WTA Players’ Council at the Australian Open on Tuesday but the American number three has some work to do on her stump speech.

The former U.S. Open finalist was convincing in her 6-2 6-2 first round victory against local teenager Destanee Aiava at Rod Laver Arena and also in her determination to nominate for the players’ body.

“I have opinions. I actually — I really want to be on the player council this year, so hopefully people will vote for me,” the 23-year-old daughter of lawyer parents said.

“It’s something that I would really like to be a part of, and I think, you know, it’s our responsibility to help grow our own game, so I would like to be a part of that.

“But I think there are just a lot of different ways that I think we can grow the sport, more, bigger tournaments and all of that.

“I mean, I don’t want to be the typical political person who’s like, ‘I promise all these things’, and then you get in and you’re like, ‘Oh, wait, that’s not possible.’”

Under pressure from players, the WTA made a number of rule changes in December.

For instance, it has included allowing tour members returning from maternity leave to have protected rankings for up to three years.

Former world number one Serena Williams’ pregnancy shone the spotlight on women whose rankings had suffered while taking time off to have children.

A number of issues remain, including long-standing demands for gender equality in prize money.

Women get equal prizemoney to men at the Grand Slams but often earn less than men at other tournaments.

Keys, seeded 17th in Melbourne, said she would like to see the tour expand to “wherever fans want (players).”

She was less expansive as to why her colleagues should vote for her particularly, though.

“Because I’m really great,” she said, flashing her toothy smile.

“That’s all I’ve got so far.”

Keys, a 2015 semi-finalist at Melbourne Park, will play Russian teenager Anastasia Potapova for a place in the third round. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/MZA

Sport

Keys crushes Cibulkova to reach U.S. Open quarters

Keys crushes Cibulkova to reach U.S. Open quarters

Flushing Meadows

New York (U.S.), Sept. 3, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Madison Keys eased into the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open with a 6-1 6-3 victory over Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova on Monday.

The 14th-seeded American, looking to go one better than her runner-up finish at Flushing Meadows last year, relied on both her dangerous serve and powerful groundstrokes.

She effectively denied Cibulkova any chance of an upset win.

Cibulkova, who arrived on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court brimming with confidence after toppling Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber in the previous round, countered with a similarly aggressive game to little avail.

With the U.S. Open’s heat advisory put back into effect, the pair traded punishing groundstrokes under the blazing sun.

It was Cibulkova who was often pinned well behind the baseline and at the mercy of her opponent.

Keys has been solid in New York, having dropped a single set through four matches, and turned it up a notch against her 29th-seeded opponent.

She lost only 10 points on serve during a 76-minute match in which she was broken once.

Cibulkova pulled ahead 3-2 in the second set but Keys stormed home from there and clinched the win on her second match point when the Slovak sent a forehand wide.

She had not reached this stage of the final Grand Slam since reaching the last eight in 2010.

With the win, Keys improved to 5-0 lifetime against Cibulkova and becomes only the second woman, after Kerber, to reach the quarter-finals or better at three of the four Grand Slams this year.

Next up for Keys is the winner of the evening clash between five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova and Spanish 30th seed Carla Suarez Navarro. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/SA

Edited by Salif Atojoko

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Sport

Better day for seeds after two days of shocks at Wimbledon

Wimbledon Open

London, July 4, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) After an opening two days in which seeds perished in the hot Wimbledon sunshine there was some respite on Wednesday as several favoured players eased into the third round.

An unprecedented 11 men’s seeds and 10 on the women’s side, including four of the top eight, failed to make it past the first round at the All England Club.

With the number of seeds set to drop from 32 back to 16 at Grand Slams from next year the rate of attrition will slow.

American Madison Keys, the 10th seed, made sure she was not amongst the casualties when she beat Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum 6-4 6-3 on Wednesday.

There were also wins for ninth seed Venus Williams and number seven Karolina Pliskova.

While the loss of former champions Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova on Tuesday surprised many, Keys said it just proved the high level of the field.

“I think it just shows the depth of women’s tennis right now,” the 23-year-old told Reuters.

“I think at the beginning of a tournament, you’d never know who’s going to win. There are no 100 per cent winners anymore. I think every single match is competitive.”

While 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams remains the benchmark for women’s tennis, the scramble to take advantage of her maternity leave backed up the Keys argument.

After the 36-year-old American won the 2017 Australian Open, five different players won the next five women’s majors.

“There’s just an abundance of talent but it’s very unpredictable at the top,” three-time Wimbledon champion Chris Evert said on the eve of Wimbledon where she is working as a summariser for broadcaster ESPN.

“There’s 10 women that can win a Grand Slam. It’s unpredictable. It’s still wonderful to watch.”

Women’s world number one Simona Halep, who moved easily into round two, said seeds were even more vulnerable at Wimbledon where players often arrive with little grasscourt practice.

“Here on grass, you don’t know what to expect,” the Romanian said. “Some players can play best tennis. The top players can play a little bit less. You never know.”

The men’s draw has already lost sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov, 10th seed David Goffin and number seven Dominic Thiem, the latter because of an injury during his match.

French 17th seed Lucas Pouille was cast aside on Wednesday by Austrian qualifier Dennis Novak, ranked 152 places below him.

American Sam Querrey, seeded 11, and Canada’s Milos Raonic, the 13th seed, both rolled through to the third round though. (Reuters/NAN)
KIA/AFA
Edited by Felix Ajide

 

Sport

Keys rallies back to beat Putintseva and reach Paris semi-finals

Roland Garros

Paris, June 5, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Madison Keys reached her maiden French Open semi-final, rallying from a break down in the opening set to claim a solid 7-6(5) 6-4 victory against Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva on Tuesday.

The American 13th seed, playing in her third consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final, was 5-3 down in the first set when she stepped up a gear to advance without having lost a set.

She will take on either Russian Daria Kasatkina or 10th seed Sloane Stephens, nine months after her compatriot beat her in the U.S. Open final.

“Thank you everyone for coming and supporting me, I did need a lot of support today,” said Keys.

“In the first set, I just needed to focus more and trust my game. I’m obviously very happy to win in straight sets again and I look forward to the next match.”

In humid conditions on Court Suzanne Lenglen, both players were solid on their serve with no break points in the first six games.

The unseeded Putintseva, who played more safely, had the first break opportunity in the seventh game, which she converted when Keys buried a backhand into the net.

Keys, however, broke back for 5-5 with a stunning forehand winner down the line and the set would be decided in a tiebreak.

Putintseva opened up a 2-0 lead, only for the American to score four points in a row and take control.

Putintseva was hoping to become the first Kazakh player – female or male – to qualify for a Grand Slam semi-final.

Keys bagged the set at the end of a long rally in which her opponent defended ferociously, gradually stepping into the court to end the exchange with a backhand winner.

Keys had the first break chance in the second set and a lightning quick service return gave her the edge as she moved 4-3 up.

She held serve until the end, prevailing on her first match point thanks to a powerful ace. (Reuters/NAN)
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Edited by Muhyideen Jimoh/Maharazu Ahmed