By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, September 3, 2018
NEW YORK—The heat rule was in effect on a sweltering Labor Day.
Madison Keys brought heat stroke making quick work of Dominika Cibulkova.
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Keys crushed Cibulkova, 6-1, 6-3, powering into her third Grand Slam quarterfinal of the season and solidifying her status as a US Open title contender.
The 14th-seeded American was overwhelming on serve. Keys slashed six aces without a double fault permitting just four points on her first serve and six points on second serve.
"I feel like today I played really well," Keys said. "I think I served well, other than one game. And other than that, I think I did a really good job to stay in some important games where I was down Love-30 or 15-40. That's what I'm most happy about and what I have been looking at.
"So just being able to stay in some really important games and play smart is what I think I have done well."
The 2017 US Open finalist more than tripled Cibulkova's winner output—25 to 7—in scoring her 10th win in her last 11 Flushing Meadows matches.
Keys joins compatriots Serena Williams and defending champion Sloane Stephens as one of three American women into the last eight.
"It's always nice to see a bunch of Americans doing well at the home slam," Keys said. "I'm just really happy to be a part of it. And to have back to back years is really special.
"There is a bunch of big stories, obviously. Serena is back. Sloane is playing really well. There is just a lot going on this year."
Opening the year with an Australian Open quarterfinal appearance, Keys fell to buddy Stephens in the Roland Garros semifinals.
Six-time US Open champion Serena and Stephens are on a semifinal collision course in the top half of the draw, while Keys has quietly put herself in position to reach her second straight Flushing Meadows final.
Oddschecker lists Serena as the 17 to 10 favorite to win her 24th Grand Slam title, Stephens is second favorite at 17 to 4 with Keys the third favorite at 13 to 2.
To continue that quest, she'll have to beat either 30th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro or five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova for a semifinal spot.
Keys will forgo scouting her next opponent in favor of dining out in Manhattan tonight.
"They are pretty much polar opposites," Keys said. "One hits hard and flat and goes for her shots. The other one has a lot more spin and likes to work the point a lot more.
"They are both very different matchups. I'm going to let all of my coaches watch and decide. I'm going to go actually eat dinner in the city instead."
Drained by three straight three-setters, including her comeback conquest of 2016 champion Angelique Kerber in the third round, Cibulkova looked depleted at the start while Keys dominated.
Fatigue was one issue for the 30th-seeded Slovak, Keys' confounding kick serve was an even bigger problem.
One reason Keys has swept all 10 sets she's played vs. the 5'3" Cibulkova is because she can kick her serve high over the shorter Slovak's shoulder giving her plenty of time and space to smack the first strike.
It's a problem Cibulkova has never really solved.
"For me, it's like I feel I'm being overpowered," Cibulkova said of her struggles vs. Keys. "And then, you know, I get few balls, I will power it, and I'm just going back. And my movement, it's not going forward. It's just going backwards. That way I just cannot play well. So this is something I tried, I wanted to do different today on the court.
"But just didn't seem it was going well for me today."
Time after time, Keys used that play effectively today. Cibulkova tried dropping deep behind the baseline to return, but Keys had every answer rolling out to a 4-1 lead.
The American's jolting power rattled Cibulkova even when she was in control. Cibulkova bungled a routine high backhand volley dropping serve to fall behind 1-5 after 32 minutes.
Slashing an ace for set points, Keys belted a backhand winner down the line for a one set lead after 34 minutes.
Down 1-6, 0-2, Cibulkova swiped the sweat from her face, tossed her towel aside and hit her way right back into the match with a three-game run.
Trailing 2-3, Keys cranked her game into a higher gear.
Punishing the 2014 Australian Open finalist with vicious forehands into the corners, Keys took complete control.
"She's a good player," Keys told Rennae Stubbs afterward. "She's obviously done a lot in her career. For her to have some good games wasn't surprising. So it was more focusing on making some first serves and waiting for the right ball."
Commanding the center of the court, Keys roared through four straight games closing her strongest match of the tournament in 75 minutes.
Asked if Keys can go all the way, Cibulkova said it all comes down to match-ups.
"Depends who she's playing next," Cibulkova said. "If she will be playing Kerber today, it will be completely different match, because it's in this stage of the tournament, it's about what draw you get, what players you like to play, and who you can beat with your game, and who you have confidence to beat.
"Yeah, she was playing well, but I never play well against her."