Article Author:
Reuters
Madison Keys defeated No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.
Keys outright beat Swiertek, who has struggled since winning the French Open in the spring, while at one point he won his ninth straight in a Cincinnati-area event.
The results were also impressive. When Swiatek and Keys met in his Indian Wells quarterfinals in March, the Polish standout won easily with his 6-1 6-0.
It was a complete reversal in this meeting and Keys' first victory over his Swiatek in three meetings.
"I'll be completely honest," Keyes said. "After two games, I was like, 'OK, I'm better than last time. I'm fine.'
"Honestly, it made me feel relaxed, but it was my first time playing on a fast court. I'm sure he was used to the conditions from the beginning, and I think he got used to it pretty quickly.”
Keys won nine and led 5-0 in the second set. Swiatek fought back by winning the next four games before Keys closed out a straight-set win.
"I really thought he should have focused more on why he was able to stand for 5-Love," Keys said. "I think I've stepped back a bit. I think she's started playing better." Keys said she went 14-6, with both players hitting her 14th in the 85-minute match. unforced her error.
Keys' next opponent is Kazakhstan's girlfriend Elena Rybakina. Her champion at Wimbledon, Alisson she scored nine aces in a 6-2 6-4 victory over Amritraj.
Estonia's second seed Annette Kontaveit and Tunisia's fifth seed Ons-Jabbar joined her Swiatek on the elimination line.
China's Shuay Her Chang reversed Kontaveit with her 2-6 6-4 6-4 as Czech Petra Kvitova beat Jabbar 6-1 4-6 6-0.
Also, France's Caroline Garcia defeated Belgium's Elise Mertens with her 6-4 7-5.
– Field Level Media
