Keys upsets world No 1 Swiatek in Cincinnati third round

Madison Keys takes out top seed Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-4 at the Cincinnati WTA 1000 on Thursday. Keys will go up against Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals.

Ricky Dimon

August 18, 2022

What a difference five months make….

At the Miami Open this spring, Madison Keys won a grand total of one game against Iga Swiatek. Fast forward to the Western & Southern Open and Keys won a lot more than just one won game. The American won the entire match, upsetting Swiatek 6-3, 6-4 during third-round action on Thursday afternoon. Keys advanced to a quarter-final contest against Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina after one hour and 26 minutes.

🚨 UPSET ALERT 🚨

1st career top-3 win ✅
Advances to 4th Quarterfinal in 2022 ✅

2019 champ @Madison_Keys takes down World No.1 Swiatek 6-3 6-4 at @CincyTennis! pic.twitter.com/PR58hAPv5u
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) August 18, 2022

Keys finally closes out Swiatek with a break

Although the scoreline was routine, the ending was difficult for Keys. She led 5-0 in the second set and even had two match points for what would have been a bagel. Swiatek saved both and held for 1-5, after which her opponent twice failed to serve out the match. The Pole actually got back on serve at 4-5, but a love break finally wrapped things up for Keys.

In total, the former US Open runner-up needed four match points to prevail.

The last time I played her she beat me pretty badly, so I’m pretty glad to get that one under my belt.
Madison Keys

“I obviously had a couple of games with a couple of match points, but I’m just so happy to get the win,” the 27-year-old commented. “The last time I played her she beat me pretty badly, so I’m pretty glad to get that one under my belt.”

As the second set showed, it wasn’t easy.

“I was really just thinking that I had to focus a lot on why I got in the position of being up 5-love,” Keys said of her mentality heading into the final game. “I think I backed off a little bit, and I think she started playing better.

“I just knew that I was going to have to try to put some pressure on her early in the game just to kind of also make her aware of the situation. All of a sudden it’s 5-4 and she feels like she has to hold that game. So (I was) just really trying to swing at the ball, make sure I was moving my feet, and put as much pressure on her as quickly as possible.”