Madison Keys advances at French Open; Elina Avanesyan upsets Belinda Bencic
May 29, 2023
Paris [France], May 29 : American Madison Keysheld off veteran Estonian Kanepi in a match that lasted for one hour and 41 minutes to advance to the second round of the ongoing French Open 2023 for the ninth time in her career.
The 2017 US Open runner-up Keys registered a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Kanepi to reach in the second round.
Kanepi, a two-time Roland Garros quarterfinalist, has been a master of the upset throughout her career, notably at the Grand Slams, where she has eleven Top 10 victories. But, after dropping the second set on Monday, Keys breezed through the third set without facing a break point.
"[I was] really focusing on those first few games of the third set, really trying to make sure that I was getting my depth and trying to control the point early on," WTA.com quoted Keys saying after the match.
"[Kanepi has] been on the tour for a really long time, and she's always had some amazing wins. You never really know when she can turn things around or go on a tear and be in the semifinals or something. ... You just have to always be ready to play literally every single point until you finally have won the match," she added.
The World No.134 Avanesyan bagged her first career victory in a Grand Slam main draw with a two-hour and 19-minute upset of reigning Olympic champion Bencic. Avanesyan was playing only her second Grand Slam main-draw match after a first-round loss at last year's US Open.
The clash was also Avanesyan's second match against a Top 20 player in her career, having lost to Elena Rybakina in two close sets last year in Rome. The 20-year-old pulled off the win this time around, reeling off the last four games of the match from 4-2 down in the third set.
Bencic suffered defeat in her first match on tour since her runner-up showing at Charleston nearly two months ago. Bencic had to miss the rest of the clay-court season, withdrawing from Madrid and Rome due to a hip injury.
