Madison Keys has been tipped to reach the very top of the tennis ladder ever since she beat Serena Williams at World Team Tennis when she was just 14 years old.
Five years later, both Williams sisters faced Keys at the Australian Open. Venus declared that “the sky’s the limit” for the young American, while Serena told yahoo.com, “She’s obviously a great player, she’s going to be winning this tournament very soon and lots of other Grand Slams.”
The problem for the World No.10 is that it has not happened yet. Ten years on from that auspicious victory, she is still considered a future Grand Slam winner and World No.1.
“All of a sudden, people say, ‘She’s a contender,’” Keys told the Denver Post in 2016. “It’s the next logical step: You made the semifinals, you should make a final. You make a final, you should win. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.”
However, when a player is as talented as the American undoubtedly is, pressure is inevitable. Her fans and her governing body expect her to win the biggest prizes in tennis, and deep down she probably expects herself to win them too.
Such expectation tends to weigh heavily on the mind, and certain performances from Keys suggest it does exactly that. The most obvious example is the 2017 US Open final against Sloane Stephens when the American played one of the worst matches of her career and was thrashed 6-3 6-0.
Shock Wimbledon loss prompts a change in attitude from Keys
Troublingly, the World No.10 suffered a shock loss to Evgeniya Rodina at Wimbledon when she was seemingly in great form just nine months later. She called it a ‘massive mishandle of nerves’.
But it also seemed to serve as something of wake-up call for Keys. In the press conference that followed, she declared her intention to develop a plan to deal with dips in form during a match and identify them more quickly.
The American also admitted she finds it hard when she is the favourite to win a match. Given this, she will have been encouraged by her runs at the next three Grand Slams, where she always reached at least the fourth round and then lost to a top ten player.
Then the old problem resurfaced at Wimbledon 2019 when Keys lost 6-2 6-4 to World No.60 Polona Hercog in the second round.
Thankfully for the World No.10, she has thus far avoided a similar fate at the US Open. She brushed aside Misaki Doi 7-5 6-0 in her opening match and then beat Lin Zhu just as easily, 6-4 6-1, in the second round.
Those wins mean Keys will probably face one of the stars of the season – 20th seed Sofia Kenin – in round three.
“I think she has been having a really great year, year and a half even,” the American said in her press conference. “She is just really crafty. She knows how to take time away but knows when to take pace off and all that. She’s just a really, really smart player.”
Keys on her love affair with Flushing Meadows
If that seems a difficult third round, it pales in comparison to Keys’ likely path thereafter. She could face Elina Svitolina in the last 16, Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-final and either Ashleigh Barty or Serena in the semi-final.
Looking at that sequence, it is clear that the American is going to have to produce her very best to stand a chance of winning her first Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows this year.
Keys can do it, and her stunning march to glory in Cincinnati in the build-up may serve as the ideal confidence booster that gets into a position to challenge at this year’s US Open.
Luckily for the American, she is frequently inspired by her surroundings. “I have lots of really great memories here,” she said. “I’ve had some of my best and most exciting matches on the grounds. That’s always really special for me.”
“Even my first Grand Slam win was here. I love playing here and I’m always excited when I get to play multiple matches in a row.”
The American believes these good memories help her. “It gives me the confidence that no matter how a match is going, I’ve figured out ways in the past to get through them,” she said.
Keys also uses the crowd to her advantage. “There’s been matches where I’ve been pretty much down and out, and the crowd has stayed behind me, gotten me back into the match, and supported me throughout,” she said.
The fans at Flushing Meadows will give the American enthusiastic support again this year. And she will need every clap and every cheer to help her beat some of the best players in the game.
