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FollowStephens, Keys Set Up All-American Semifinal Match In Paris
There will be an All-American semifinal matchup in the Women’s Draw at Roland Garros as Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens cruised to victories on Tuesday. The two women who met in the 2017 US Open Final, will do so again, guaranteeing that an American will be in the French Open Final. Keys defeated Yulia Putintseva 7-6, 6-4 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
The first set was hotly-contested, and it was Putintseva who found the first opening, breaking Keys and earning an opportunity to serve for the set. But that chance was quickly thwarted as Keys fought back to level the set. The set would be determined in a tiebreak where Keys gained the advantage with her power game in full throttle.
Frustrations rose for Putintseva in the second set and she began to lose composure as she glared and gestured at her box and ranted as she questioned a line call. But it wasn’t until the seventh game until the set tilted towards Keys, who would gain a service break. She had little problem closing out the match on her racket to advance.
“Thank you everyone, for coming and supporting me, I did need a lot of support today,” said Keys. “In the first set, I just needed to focus more and trust my game. I'm obviously very happy to win in straight sets again and I look forward to the next match.”
That next match will be against Sloane Stephens, a fellow American and friend, who dominated Daria Kasatkina 6-3 6-1. Stephens has played her best tennis this week as she has lost just six games in her last two matches.
After the two players traded early breaks in the first set, Stephens would settle in and strike the ball brilliantly. She took control of the set with a service break after winning a marathon game to go to 5-3. She promptly served out the set.
Stephens would gain control of the second set after breaking to move to 3-1. She would not look back as she rolled to victory.
“I'm excited to play my good friend in the semifinals, we've already played in the US Open final and it's really good for American tennis,” said Stephens.
Stephens steamrolled Keys in that Final to win her maiden grand slam title, but Keys has tried to put the loss out of her memory. “Honestly, the US Open feels like it was 12 years ago at this point,” she said.” I obviously rely on what I learned there and how to manage my emotions and manage the moment, but there were so many late nights and I was so tired. It feels completely different here.”
Keys has yet to drop a set in the tournament, but Stephens has yet to drop a set to her friend in their previous two meetings.