Keys keeps eye on the ball to reach Wimbledon second round
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 30, 2025 Madison Keys of the U.S. reacts during her first round match against Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 30, 2025 Madison Keys of the U.S. in action during her first round match against Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
Keys keeps eye on the ball to reach Wimbledon second round
LONDON - American Madison Keys did not let an ailing opponent or the furnace-like conditions on Wimbledon's Court 2 distract her from notching up a 6-7(4) 7-5 7-5 victory over Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round of Wimbledon on Monday.
Keys' hopes of extending her perfect 10-0 first-round record at the All England Club appeared to be in jeopardy when her Romanian rival bagged the first set with some thundering shots from the baseline.
However, the intense heat appeared to get to Ruse in the second set and she called on the trainer, who escorted the Romanian off court for treatment after checking her blood pressure.
With the break lasting close to 10 minutes, Australian Open champion Keys opted to stay in the zone by hitting serves as she waited for her opponent to return to the court.
Trailing 5-3, the scorching 32-degrees Celsius heat caused Ruse further problems as she collapsed to the ground in agony clutching her right thigh, stricken by a bout of cramp.
Once she was free of pain, the world number 58 got back on her feet to level the set at 5-5 and stood two games away from toppling the sixth seed.
Keys then produced the kind of form that carried her to a maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne earlier this year as she won four games on the trot to take the second set and surge into a 2-0 lead in the third.
The 30-year-old was broken when she served for the match at 5-4, doubling over the net after she raced forward to hit the ball on break point down.
It proved to be Ruse's last hurrah though as Keys was screaming out a deafening 'Come on' just two games later after sealing victory. She will next face Serbia's Olga Danilovic. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
28 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Djokovic faces Evans test at Wimbledon, Rybakina takes on Sakkari
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 1, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic leaves the court after winning his first round match against France's Alexandre Muller REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON - The second round of Wimbledon continues on Thursday, with Novak Djokovic resuming his hunt for an eighth crown when he meets Dan Evans, while 2022 champion Elena Rybakina faces Maria Sakkari. TOP MEN'S MATCH: DAN EVANS V NOVAK DJOKOVIC Djokovic will be hoping to be rid of the stomach bug that caused him nervous moments in his opening round win over unseeded Frenchman Alexandre Muller when he meets Evans on Centre Court. The Serbian cannot afford any distractions against the Briton, who is among a select handful of players to have crossed paths with Djokovic without tasting defeat. Evans won their only previous meeting, a 6-4 7-5 victory in Monte Carlo in 2021. "For sure, he's a super talented player and a great competitor. Always backs himself up on the court, believes in himself," Djokovic said. "Playing obviously against a Brit in Britain, it's never easy. I have to be ready for a great battle. I haven't played him in a long time. The only time we played was on clay actually. He beat me in Monte Carlo. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore and Cambodia to expand collaboration in renewable energy, carbon markets and agri-trade World Trump announces Vietnam trade deal with 20% import tariff Singapore From camping to mentorship, Singapore Scouts mark 115th anniversary of the youth movement Singapore Ong Beng Seng's court hearing rescheduled one day before he was expected to plead guilty World Sean 'Diddy' Combs convicted on prostitution counts but cleared of more serious charges Singapore Teen, 17, to be charged with allegedly trespassing on MRT tracks Singapore Granddaughter of Hin Leong founder O.K. Lim fails to keep 3 insurance policies from creditors' reach Singapore Man on trial for raping drunken woman after offering to drive her and her friend home "He uses his slice quite a lot. I think that favours grass courts because the ball stays low. He can serve and volley. He chips the ball, comes in, mixes up the pace. He's really a tricky opponent to play against." TOP WOMEN'S MATCH: ELENA RYBAKINA V MARIA SAKKARI Rybakina has perhaps struggled to live up to her promise after winning Wimbledon in 2022, but she has made a habit of raising her level at the All England Club. The 26-year-old reached the quarter-finals in 2023 and lost in three sets to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova in last year's semi-finals. The Russian-born Kazakh will fancy her chances when she comes up against Sakkari in the second round, having beaten the Greek in their last three meetings, though all of those came on hard courts. A former world number three, Sakkari has fallen out of the top 50 after a rough spell and was knocked out in the qualifiers of the Berlin Open last month. SWIATEK LEARNING TO CONTEND WITH 'LIVING SURFACE' Former world number one Swiatek, who beat Polina Kudermetova 7-5 6-1 in hot conditions in the first round, said she is trying to take each day as it comes as she looks to win a first title on grass. "Obviously, I needed some time to adjust to the grass because it's different than Bad Homburg. I'm happy with the performance and I felt like I'm playing better every game," the five-times Grand Slam winner told reporters after her win over Kudermetova. "I'm not really focusing on that. I think with the change of the weather and everything, we will have to adjust every day to a little bit different conditions. Grass is a living surface, so it will also change a bit." WIMBLEDON ORDER OF PLAY ON THURSDAY (prefix number denotes seeding) CENTRE COURT (play begins at 1230 GMT) Daniel Evans (Britain) v 6-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 8-Iga Swiatek (Poland) v Caty McNally (U.S.) 1-Jannik Sinner (Italy) v Aleksandar Vukic (Australia) COURT NUMBER ONE (play begins at 1200 GMT) 7-Mirra Andreeva (Russia) v Lucia Bronzetti (Italy) Maria Sakkari (Greece) v 11-Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) 4-Jack Draper (Britain) v Marin Cilic (Croatia) REUTERS
Straits Times
40 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Bradley names Woodland as fifth US Ryder Cup vice captain
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Jun 28, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Keegan Bradley plays his shot from the 12th tee during the third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images/File Photo U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley on Wednesday has named Gary Woodland as the fifth and final vice captain of his team who will try to reclaim the trophy from Europe this year at Bethpage Black in New York. The 41-year-old Woodland, who counts the 2019 U.S. Open among his four wins on the PGA Tour, joins previously appointed Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker on Bradley's staff. "I have an incredible amount of respect and admiration for Gary and all he has accomplished in this game," said Bradley. "As a major champion and someone who is still competing at a high level, he is well aware of the demands of performing on golf's biggest stages." Woodland will be making his first Ryder Cup appearance as a vice captain or player. He represented the U.S. at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia where he earned 1-1/2 points in a 16-14 U.S. victory. In February, Woodland was the recipient of the PGA Tour Courage Award for his return to full-time competition on the U.S.-based circuit following brain surgery in 2023. "Keegan's passion for this event is contagious and I am thrilled to be a part of it," Woodland said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore and Cambodia to expand collaboration in renewable energy, carbon markets and agri-trade World Trump announces Vietnam trade deal with 20% import tariff Singapore From camping to mentorship, Singapore scouts mark 115th anniversary of the youth movement Singapore Ong Beng Seng's court hearing rescheduled one day before he was expected to plead guilty World Sean 'Diddy' Combs convicted on prostitution counts but cleared of more serious charges Singapore Teen, 17, to be charged with allegedly trespassing on MRT tracks Singapore Granddaughter of Hin Leong founder O.K. Lim fails to keep 3 insurance policies from creditors' reach Singapore Man on trial for raping drunken woman after offering to drive her and her friend home "With just over two months to go until we arrive at Bethpage, I am fully committed to doing everything I can to help Keegan as well as our team of vice captains and players." The Ryder Cup is scheduled for Sept. 26-28. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Norrie returns to favourite Wimbledon stage to stun Tiafoe
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox LONDON - Britain's Cameron Norrie returned to his favourite patch of Wimbledon turf to stun American 12th seed Frances Tiafoe and reach the third round with a 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-5 win on Wednesday. Court One might lack the aura of the All England Club's historic Centre Court, but Norrie loves it, having won three matches there during his semi-final run in 2022. Norrie's ranking has slipped to 61 and he lost in the first round of both his warm-up events on grass, but after an excursion on Court 18 on Monday he was back on the sleek 12,345 arena for his clash with Tiafoe. Initially it was the free-hitting Tiafoe who looked right at home, taking a tight opening set with a single break of serve. But everything changed at the end of the second. Norrie found himself in big trouble when serving at 4-4, going down 0-40. But he reeled off five points in a row and broke in the next game with a superb backhand winner to snatch the set. Left-hander Norrie, who had never previously beaten a top-20 player at Wimbledon, bristled with energy in the third set, dictating the points as Tiafoe began to fade. Norrie failed to capitalise on one break of serve as he allowed Tiafoe to reply, but another break proved decisive as he moved to within one set of victory. Tiafoe left the court for seven minutes for a bathroom break before the start of the fourth set but Norrie refused to be put off his stride and broke serve for a 4-3 lead. Again Tiafoe managed to respond, but Norrie was relentless as he again pounced on the American's serve before completing victory to reach the Wimbledon third round for the fourth time. Tiafoe's exit means 14 of the 32 men's seeds are out of the tournament less than halfway through the first week. REUTERS
