Madison Keys put on a blistering performance in her straight sets demolition of Austrian Tamira Paszek at the Aegon Classic. From the start, her penetrating ground strokes caused considerable problems as the overbearing game of the 21-year-old was too much for her opponent today.
Keys started off the match in style–her forehand was looking in fine form, while her weaker backhand continued to hold up under the dark clouds in Birmingham. Last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinalist Keys was playing to her full potential, as she realized just how much her powerful game suited the West-Midland grass courts. It was a near faultless match from the American; she quickly claimed a 3-0 lead in the first set slowly but surely solving the puzzle that Paszek presents on a grass court. Keys, the #16 player on the singles tour, was moving effortlessly, but the most impressive feature to her game was the ability to finish the point at the net.
At *3-1 in the first set, Keys faced a break point, but with consistently punishing forehands that left the court in her mercy–she delivered the final blow with a volley at the net. That moment in the match changed everything, with Keys seemingly feeding off the confidence of being on a court she excels on. Eventually the No. 3 American played a majestic forehand winner on the run to seal the first set–it was one of the best sets Keys has played on this surface. Keys took the first set 6-1 and was in the ascendancy in this match up.
Keys and Paszek had competed on the WTA Tour before–in the 2013 Australian Open Keys won 6-2 6-1 in that particular match up, where Paszek was still coming to terms with her bout of glandular fever. The result of that match reflected Keys expectations of thriving on a hard court–but she is now coming to terms with the fact that her game fits perfectly with a grass court as it allows her to play the short, sharp points. The surface really does give her the license to take advantage of her flat ball striking where she finds the lines with regularity, exploring all the areas of a tennis court.
Every time that Madison Keys was given a short ball, which allowed her to step inside the baseline, she would then attack the open court into the backhand side of Tamira Paszek. The Austrian struggles more at defending her forehand wing, so Keys forced her to try and protect her forehand, which ultimately left the backhand exposed. Keys played a tactically astute match in summary.
The 21-year-old brought the same high level into the second set to defeat Tamira Paszek 6-1 6-3 in 57 minutes–an impressive result given Paszek’s credentials on a grass surface over the years. Keys talked more about her improved moment on this surface as her movement has been a common flaw in her game over the years.
“Yeah I think after the first match I was a little bit more comfortable. Even with it being a little slippery today. I’m definitely feeling a lot more comfortable on it.”
The hard-hitting American was questioned on who she would rather play in the quarterfinal, Petra Kvitova or Jelena Ostapenko.
“I’m prepared for either. Obviously Kvitova is pretty good on grass and Ostapenko is clearly playing well – the surface would suit her (Ostapenko) game.”
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