Madison Keys, Aryna Sabalenka avoid upsets at Wimbledon
After outlasting Elena-Gabriela Ruse in a grueling, three-set match in sweltering conditions on Monday, Keys needed just 75 minutes to dismiss her Serbian foe.
"I definitely felt a little bit more comfortable today – it's the cloudy, rainy England that we know and love, so that helped a lot ... felt a little bit more normal out here today," Keys said during her on-court interview.
Keys, who won the Australian Open earlier this year, fired three aces, had 19 winners and overcame seven double faults to emerge victorious.
"I knew that I wanted to get the momentum as early as I could and try to keep it," Keys said. "I knew that she could play really great tennis, so just wanted to get a lead and then run with it."
Keys set up a third-round match with Germany's Laura Siegemund, who posted a 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 29 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada.
Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka battled through a tough first set to record a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over Czech Marie Bouzkova. The Belarus native notched five aces and had 41 winners against only 18 unforced errors.
Sabalenka was pleased to be advancing in the tournament and avoid the fate of second-seeded Coco Gauff, third-seeded Jessica Pegula and fifth-seeded Qinwen Zheng of China. The latter three players have been eliminated from the tournament.
"Honestly, it's very sad to see so many top players losing in the first round, but you're better off focusing on yourself and staying away from the results," Sabalenka said in her on-court interview.
She then lightened the mood with a joke.
"I hope there are no more upsets in this tournament," the top-seeded player said.
Sabalenka, who is bidding for her first Wimbledon title, will face the winner of Wednesday's match between 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova, a Czech, and local favorite Emma Raducanu.
Also Wednesday, Spaniard Cristina Bucsa coasted to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 22 seed Donna Vekic of Croatia. Sonay Kartal of Great Britain also topped Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova in straight sets. — REUTERS
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