The Williams sisters aren’t the only Americans worth keeping an eye on this week at Wimbledon, as World No. 9 Madison Keys is steadily on the rise this 2016 and ready to bring even more captivating performances for the US of A.
Keys’ first opponent of the tournament is Laura Siegemund, who managed to upend her earlier this season. Can Keys redeem herself by defeating Siegemund the second time around? Let’s find out below.
For more first-round coverage at the All England Club – this time from the men’s singles side of the tournament – check out our previews for Djokovic vs. Ward and Nishikori vs. Groth right after this.
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Has Madison Keys finally arrived? If her 2016 campaign is any indication, she’s very well on her way to the upper echelons of the WTA, alright.
After winning the Aegon Classic Birmingham a couple of weeks ago, Keys became the first female tennis player to breach the top 10 of the world rankings since Serena Williams in 1999. She had another terrific showing at Rome prior to that, reaching the final round of the tournament before falling to Williams herself.
While the possible rematch against Serena here at the All England Club has yet to pan out, the Rock Isalnd, Illinois native must focus on delivering the goods on grass. And given her form on that turf in general, she’s very well in line for a deep run at Wimby; so much so that she’s solidly priced at +2,000 to win the entire tournament.
Keys is sporting a healthy 22-6 record on grass surfaces since 2013, which includes her breakthrough quarter-final appearance at last year’s edition of Wimbledon. The 21-year-old rising star is undefeated on the lawns this year, and has not lost no more than two matches in each of the past three years on the surface as well, making her a solid candidate indeed to hoist the Venus Rosewater Dish when all is said and done.
World No. 42 Laura Siegemund should be feeling good about her upcoming matchup against Madison Keys this Monday. Just this April, the 28-year-old righty prevailed victorious over Keys in the second round of the Volvo Car Open in Charleston – albeit that she needed all three sets (6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4) to seal the deal.
That wasn’t the only time that Siegemund showed great prowess on the courts this season. The German upstart made it to the final round at her hometown of Stuttgart (also from this April), shocking the likes of top-10 standouts in Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci and Agnieszka Radwanska before ultimately falling to World No. 4 Angelique Kerber.
However, Siegemund has not been able to sustain her positive momentum at all. Since having that spectacular month, she has gone 2-4 entering Wimbledon, with all four losses coming at the hands of opponents outside of the top 40.
Perhaps Siegemund’s streak started and ended on the clay courts, as she hasn’t been at the top of her game on grass at all. She’s just 1-2 on the verdant turf this season heading into the All England Club, with both losses to even more relative unknowns. Even worse, she bowed out of the first round of Wimbledon last year, and has failed to qualify for the tournament in two other attempts from 2011 and 2014.
Writer’s Prediction
Keys (–750) exacts revenge on Siegemund and coasts to victory in straight sets.
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