In the first of today’s semifinals, Madison Keys and Carla Suarez-Navarro competed for their rightful place in the Aegon Classic final. Keys was aiming to make her fourth final on the tour, while the more experienced Suarez-Navarro was closing in on her eleventh final at this level.
Madison Keys defeats a tired Carla Suarez Navarro to make Aegon Classic final
The story behind Keys’ road to the semifinals
Madison Keys experienced the smoother, more routine path to the semifinals in relation to the scheduling. The rising American star played two of her three matches as the first match of the day. Firstly against Hungary’s Timea Babos and then against Tamira Paszek in the second round. The first round clash against Babos was far from comfortable though, as Keys failed to serve out the first set at *5-3, then found herself facing a 0-3 deficit in the tiebreak before she turned the first set around in her favor. Keys would go on to win the match 7-6 (3) 6-4. She demonstrated her vast psychological improvements when facing adversity in the big moments of a tennis match.
Her second-round match against Paszek was very different; she played explosive tennis from inside the baseline and took time away from Paszek when given the opportunity. In the quarterfinal, the match reflected Keys waiting for the right moment to make her move in a very close contest before coming through with the win 6-7(1) 6-4 6-2.
Suarez Navarro’s road to the semifinal
It can be argued that Suarez-Navarro has gone the scenic route to the semifinals and has notched some impressive wins in the process. Coming into the Aegon Classic, Suarez-Navarro had never beaten a Top 20 player on the grass surface. The Spanish competitor changed that by beating No. 18 Elina Svitolina in the first round and defeating No. 4 Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals.
The story of the semifinal
The start of the semifinal saw Keys deliver unforced error upon unforced error, with the Spaniard rarely having to do a lot to gain the lead she obtained in the first set. The World No. 16 Keys found it difficult to finish the points as she was seemingly struggling to handle the windy conditions that favored Suarez-Navarro to a greater extent. Suarez-Navarro found herself in a positive position as she charged into a 6-3 first set lead. A key element to Madison Keys’ vibrant game is that when the 21-year-old American begins to find her range on the forehand she can reel off several games in a matter of minutes. She did just that and took the second set with the same scoreline 6-3, and we were going to a third set.
The third set was very different to the ongoings of the first two sets. Suarez-Navarro was undeniably tired following her weekly exploits in this particular competition, but when Keys found the court with her powerful groundstrokes Suarez Navarro’s finesse game style found it difficult to handle the uncontrollable power coming from the racquet of Madison Keys. Furthermore, as both players prepared for one of the best tiebreaks of the tournament, Keys threw everything at Suarez Navarro – sending brutal forehands to the backhand side with regularity. The velocity of Keys groundstrokes driving firmly into Suarez Navarro’s one handed backhand indicated that the Spaniard could not get the stability on that shot as she did not have the benefit of the security of a double handed weapon like Keys has.
Moving into the Top 10
Keys was the fresher player and it showed in the decisive moments as she took the win 3-6 6-3 7-6. With this win she sealed her debut into the Top 10 of the women’s game at the age of 21. She talked more about this milestone in press shortly afterwards.
“I’ve dealt with the pressure for a while. I think I’ve been pretty lucky the last couple of years just because there has been so many other American players that have taken the spotlight at times. I think we’ve shared it, so I think that’s been helpful. But I think in the last year or so, I’ve learned how to handle the outside opinions and pressures a lot better. It’s great to hear and I love that she thinks that seeing how successful she’s been, but that just makes me work harder.”
Added Pressure
In acknowledgement to the fact Keys has made the Top 10, a reporter asked Keys whether she feels she can handle the pressure of being one of the “hunted” rather than one of the players chasing the field.
“I think you slowly have that happen. I think, whether it’s when you still play the ITFs, and all of a sudden, you’re in the Top 150, and you’re the seeded one. Then you’re in the Top 50, then you’re the seeded one in the first couple of rounds of tournaments. So there’s been that element of no longer being the lower-ranked player and feeling like you’re the one that is supposed to win the match. Obviously it’s never been this big for me, so I think that’s definitely going to have to be something I have to deal with and learn how to handle. I’m definitely really happy that I’m in the position to have to handle it.”
For the first time since 2005, three American women will be in the Top 10. Keys was questioned on her initial feeling of reaching Top 10 status.
“I’m not sad about it. I’m really excited. I mean, right now, I’m just really focused on the final. I haven’t even really put a ton of thought of being in the Top 10. That will definitely sink in after the tournament. I’m happy with it, but more focused on wanting to win the final tomorrow.”
Looking ahead to Wimbledon
Within the last twelve months, Keys has shown more often than not that her game suits grass and Wimbledon.
“Yeah, I mean I made the quarter-finals last year, so I feel like I’ve done well at Wimbledon. Obviously, the quarter-finals isn’t what I want. I want more. So, yeah, I’m going to do whatever I can to try to achieve more.”
The importance of the way in which Keys won the match cannot be disregarded. Throughout her younger years of development into the player she is now, she very rarely came through tight, competitive matches where she wasn’t playing some of her best brand of ball striking. In instances where Keys faces little resistance she really does play to her full potential but it has become a habit that she falters when the scoreline gets tight. She changed that pattern today against Suarez-Navarro.
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