Madison Keys barged into the third round of the 2017 US Open with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 win over Tatjana Maria on Thursday. It was a fantastic performance by Keys who needed one hour and 24 minutes to record the straight-sets victory. With the win, Keys reached the last 32 at Flushing Meadows for the third year running.
Providing the impetus for Keys’ victory was her excellent return. Keys won 47 percent of her receiving points against Maria with the No. 15 seed converting four of her nine break point chances. She also found some success in her occasional forays to the net, winning 14 of her 23 points there. She has now won 64 percent (32-of-50) of her net points in this tournament thus far.
Next up for Keys is a third-round clash with Elena Vesnina. This will be the third meeting between Keys and Vesnina in the WTA Tour with the American holding a healthy 2-0 advantage. For Keys to extend her dominance against Vesnina, she will need to find ways to limit her miscues. Keys committed a whopping 36 unforced errors in the win against Maria. She’s averaging 40 unforced errors in her first two matches here in the US Open.
Elena Vesnina booked a place in the third round of the 2017 US Open with a straightforward 6-4, 6-4 victory over Kirsten Flipkens on Thursday. It was a solid performance from Vesnina who needed one hour and 41 minutes to eliminate the Belgian. Just like in her previous match against Blinkova, Vesnina’s return was impressive once again in this contest. She won 49 percent of her receiving points against Flipkens with the 17th-seeded Russian converting five of her nine break point chances.
Vesnina has been impeccable in this event thus far as she has yet to drop a set in her opening two matches. She will look to continue her excellent form when she takes on Madison Keys in the third round. For Vesnina to beat Keys and secure her first-ever round-of-16 appearance at the US Open, she will need to improve on her first serve percentage. Vesnina converted just 58 percent of her first serves against Flipkens with the 31-year-old winning 31 of her 46 first serve points in that second-round clash.
