Madison Keys could not pull off another feat of escapology at the Australian Open. The reigning champion was beaten 6-3, 6-4 Monday by fellow American Jessica Pegula, ending her defense of her first Grand Slam title.
Keys had won her previous 10 matches at Melbourne Park, during which time her ability to raise her level when behind was arguably her defining quality. Most notably when down match point on Iga Świątek’s serve in last year’s semifinal. In her first round this year, Keys trailed 4-0 in the first set of her match against Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova. She rattled off four straight winners having been down two set points in the subsequent tiebreak.
NO WAY BACK FOR MADISON
In the second set of her second-round match against compatriot Ashlyn Krueger, Keys trailed 5-2 before winning five straight games to clinch victory. Despite late resistance against Pegula, the No. 6 seed, there was no reprieve this time.
PODCAST MOTIVATION
There was also extra spice going into the match, with the two players choosing a forfeit for the loser. Keys and Pegula are both part of the “Player’s Box” podcast. They agreed over the weekend that whoever was beaten would have to pay a penalty. For Keys, that meant eating her opponent’s beloved apple pie with cheddar cheese on top. While Pegula would have had to wear a Travis Kelce / Taylor Swift Kansas City Chiefs jersey. The Chiefs are arch-rivals of the Buffalo Bills, the NFL team that Pegula’s parents own.
“Yeah, I think that was really some extra motivation, because that would have been a tough moment for me,” Pegula said in a news conference after the match. She explained that it would probably be fellow Player’s Box host and former Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady who would make the pie for Keys.
“A bet is a bet, so I’ll do it,” Keys said in a news conference afterwards. “I hope it’s less gross than I think it’s going to be, but we will find out, I guess.”
IT’S ALL BUSINESS
The closeness of the two players saw them share a joke right before they went on court. They quickly settled back into that mode on the exercise bikes afterwards.
It was all business once they were underway on Rod Laver Arena, as Pegula made a strong start – breaking serve straight away for an early 3-0 lead. Keys started uncertainly, hitting a serve so far out it almost hit the baseline. After an exchange of breaks toward the end of the set, Pegula served it out and broke straight away at the start of the second.
Keys’ game is based around her formidable power from the baseline. This makes her one of the most dangerous players on the tour when on song. But the low margins Keys plays with can also lead to her coughing up a lot of errors, which was what happened to leave her trailing 4-1 — and by two breaks of serve — in the second set.
PEGULA’S HIGHS
In contrast, Pegula’s greatest asset is her consistency. Her ability to keep hitting with punishing depth and not getting too high or too low.
Pegula seemed to wake up from that state with the finishing line in sight. As Keys got one of the breaks back and had a point for 4-4. Pegula held on though, to send her compatriot, friend, and podcast co-host out of the tournament.
Keys, paid tribute afterwards to the way Pegula was able to take control of the points early. Her underrated ability to play with so much depth that it’s difficult to get on top in the rallies. “Jess does a really good job at taking time away,” Keys said. She added that she was proud of herself for being willing to try new things this tournament.
“She redirects incredibly well, so it’s kind of a Catch-22 sometimes with her, because it’s almost like the more pace you give her, the quicker the ball is coming back at you.
“I think another thing that I don’t think she always gets as much credit for is she hits a lot of very deep balls, so you can’t really do a whole lot with them, or if you do, you have to take a little bit more of a risk just because she does a really good job of pushing people off of the baseline.
“So you don’t really want to just keep firing back at her, because the ball just is going to start coming quicker and quicker.”
MADISON’S LOOPHOLES EXPLOITED
Going for her shots was what took Keys to the Australian Open title last year, and what had kept her alive at this year’s event, but Monday was a victory for holding steady. Keys hit far more winners than Pegula (26 to 14), but she also made more than double her unforced errors (28 to 13).
Keys will drop from No. 9 to No. 16 in the rankings after this defeat, while Pegula is into her ninth Grand Slam quarterfinal, up against American No. 4 seed Amanda Anisimova Wednesday. Anisimova beat Wang Xinyu of China 7-6(4), 6-4 in their fourth-round match, and faces a version of Pegula that believes she is playing the best tennis of her career.
“In general, I feel like I’m a better player right now (than her previous Slam quarterfinals),” Pegula said.
“I feel like I have so many more tools. My movement has gotten better. I think my serve is a lot better than it used to be, and that really helped me today. I think I’m just overall a better player.
“It doesn’t always mean that you’re going to win the match, but I do feel like playing against all these girls with the depth, I think I have a lot more tools to kind of figure out a way to win.
“For me, I have always been the type of player where I get frustrated when I feel like I’m not getting better. And I still think that at my age, I’ve already had a lot of really great results. Being 31, I still feel like I’m improving as a player. So that is what gets me the most excited.”
This is IDNN. Independent. Digital. Uncompromising.