By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Madison Keys backed up the longest match of the Olympics outdueling Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, becoming the first player to reach the Rio quarterfinals.
Photo credit: ITF Olympic Tennis
Madison Keys grew up watching the Olympics.
Today, the 21-year-old American grew closer to playing for an Olympic medal.
Watch: US Open Unveils Roof and Renovation
Breaking serve three times in the decisive set, Keys dispatched Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, becoming the first player to reach the Rio quarterfinals.
"I'm so excited," Keys told Bravo Network's Trenni Kusnierek afterward. "Growing up it was always something I watched, so being in the quarterfinals means so much to me."
Showing no signs of fatigue after edging Kristina Mladenovic, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), in the longest match of these Olympics, Keys commanded the center of the court and often controlled play with her forehand.
Keys pounded 38 winners—30 more winners than her opponent— with 21 of them coming from her booming forehand.
In the final set, Keys cracked 15 forehand winners.
"She definitely raised her level in the second set," Keys said. "She started pushing me back off the baseline. So I definitely had to raise my level as she did as well.
"For me it's about being able to move up in the court and looking for the right balls to attack. I miss a lot of those shots, but that's how I need to play. I need to take those risks."
Keys can put herself in medal contention if she can defeat either Sara Errani or Daria Kasatkina in the quarterfinals.
Breaking in the second game for a 2-0 lead, Keys took early control only to see Suarez Navarro break back for 2-all. Keys won four of the next five games to seize a one-set lead.
Strong serving was key. The seventh-seeded American won 12 of 15 points played on her first serve, closing the set with successive love holds.
Patiently moving the ball around the court, Suarez Navarro played cleaner tennis in the second set. The Spaniard committed just five unforced errors compared to 13 for Keys in rolling through the second set to force a decider.
The ninth-seeded Spaniard saved three break in her opening service game of the final set, but Keys kept up the pressure. Driving the ball into the corner, Keys broke for 2-0 when Suarez Navarro netted a redirected backhand down the line.
Working the wide angles, Suarez Navarro immediately broke back at 15 to get back on serve.
They exchanged breaks again with the Spaniard breaking back when Keys nudged a volley wide for 2-3. Suarez Navarro held for the first time in the set, leveling after one hour, 27 minutes of play.
Stretched by a slider serve, Keys whipped a forehand return that handcuffed Suarez Navarro, whose reply settled into the net. Keys snatched the crucial break for 5-3.
An inside-out forehand brought her to match point and Keys closed with a squeal on a Suarez Navarro error.
It's not the end of the Rio road for Suarez Navarro, who will partner Garbine Muguruza in doubles against Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens and Yanina Wickmayer later today. Suarez Navarro will also team with David Ferrer in a mixed doubles field that features Rafael Nadal joining forces with Muguruza in a French Open champions dream team and Venus Williams pairing with Rajeev Ram.
Meanwhile, Keys has won 24 of her last 27 matches as she sets her sights on the final four.