By Julien Pretot
PARIS (Reuters) – Madison Keys fought off a late challenge from fellow American Hailey Baptiste to book her spot in the French Open quarter-finals with a 6-3 7-5 victory at Roland Garros on Monday.
The seventh-seeded Keys cantered through the opening set before Baptiste broke for 3-1 in the second, pushing the Australian Open champion to the limit on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Baptiste eventually cracked, allowing her opponent and friend to set up a meeting with second seed Coco Gauff in the next round, ensuring an American presence in the semi-finals.
“Hailey is such an amazing player, it was such a tough second set. Today I just had to kind of make as many balls as possible,” said Keys.
The 30-year-old could count on the support of new U.S. Billie Jean King Cup captain and former coach Lindsay Davenport plus 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, who is sidelined through injury and was also watching from the stands.
“We’ve a lot of really great players constantly helping us, inspiring us and if we have any questions they’re of great help. It’s great being friends with such amazing players,” she added.
Keys, who only has one clay court title to her name, will face an expert on the red surface in Gauff and knows she will have to take risks to reach the last four in Paris for the second time after making the semis in 2018.
“At the Australian Open I was really brave to go after my shots, that’s how I play my best tennis. Sometimes it is hard but usually it pays off,” she added.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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