Venus Williams, of the United States, lunges for the ball during her first round match against Madison Keys, of the United States, at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Montreal, Monday, August 7, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
MONTREAL – American Madison Keys has moved on to the round of 32 at the National Bank Open after beating Venus Williams 6-2, 7-5 at IGA Stadium on Monday night.
This is the sixth time the two have squared off, with Keys winning four of the matches.
The 16th-ranked player in the world was quick to break Williams’ serve in the first set. Keys – who will also be competing in the women’s doubles tournament with fellow American Jennifer Brady – used that to continue her dominance over the first set and break Williams a second time.
Although, the former top-ranked player in the world would not go quietly. After Williams claimed the opening game of the second set, the two would go back-and-forth for nearly 15 minutes at deuce before Keys avoided being broken.
As the two Americans traded serves, Williams’ resistance would finally waver with the set tied at 3-3 when a series of double faults resulted in Keys breaking her for the third time in the match.
After fighting off match point on seven different occasions, Williams would finally break Keys’ serve for the first time in the match, extending the set.
However, fatigue appeared to set in as Keys broke Williams for the fourth time. Throughout the game, Williams struggled to make up the sizable difference in second-serve points.
While Keys won 58 per cent of her second-serve points, Williams could only muster 38 per cent.
Keys now faces Italian Jasmine Paolini in the round of 32.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2023.
