Madison Keys celebrated the Fourth of July with her Center Court debut and a place in the fourth round at Wimbledon, defeating American Amanda Anisimova. 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
The Australian Open champion was making her debut on Center Court, while Anisimova returned to Center Court after finishing second here last year.
Anisimova made a strong start, breaking ia 5-3 lead to the opening set before serving it.
But Keys turned the match in the second set with his serve. He mixed speed with good placement, and won 76 percentage of his first serve, hit four aces, and repeatedly won free points or short balls that he could attack.
While Keys’ serve got stronger, Anisimova struggled to control her forehand. He finished with 27 previous unforced errors as well 42 unforced errors in general, missed repeatedly on that wing as the keys apply pressure.
(Photos by Susan Mullane-Imagn)
Keys broke twice in the second set to tie the match. In the final decision, he broke 2-1 and defended that advantage all the way, closing out the victory in two hours and one minute.
The keys are finished with them 13 winners once 23 unforced errors. Anisimova struck 15 the winners but he ended up being pushed back by him 42 unforced errors, especially on the front side.
The victory sends Keys into the fourth round at Wimbledon for the fifth time.
In his post-match press conference, Keys said: “Yes, I’m very happy to be in the second week here at Wimbledon. My first appearance on Center Court. All good things (smiling).
“I feel like going into this game, it played as I expected. I felt that it was really going to be whoever could get the break opportunities and just kind of take advantage of them quickly and maybe be the one who could win the game.
“We wouldn’t have it 45-football rallies. I think it was after the first set, I felt like if I could put myself in some of his service games, even just a few points, I felt like in the first set I think I had a chance for a break, maybe one, but I felt like most of his service games I wasn’t the type to put pressure on him. He was very easy to catch.
“So instead of trying to get, like, the bigger picture and make myself think like I have to break through, it was just, ‘Let’s see if I can get there. 30 in the game, just to feel like I’m getting into some of these games.’ I think focusing on that helped a lot. I felt that after that, it continued to try to serve well.”
