PARIS (Reuters) – Madison Keys totally lost control after a brilliant opening set as she crashed out of the French Open with a 1-6 6-3 6-1 defeat by Russian Veronika Kudermetova on Monday.
The 22nd seed, who was looking to be the third American into the last eight after Sloane Stephens and Coco Gauff qualified on Sunday, was powerless against her 25-year-old opponent’s heavy forehand.
Keys raced through a one-sided opening set and seemed to be heading for a comfortable win, but Kudermetova started playing more accurately and took command of the second on court Philippe Chatrier.
The Russian relied on her forehand to put Keys on the back foot and found herself serving for the set in no time. Keys saved six set points as Kudermetova showed signs of nerves.
A big first serve saved her some blushes on the seventh attempt and the Russian carried the momentum into the decider.
A double break gave her a 4-1 lead in just 20 minutes and she bagged the next two games easily to wrap it up when Keys made a forehand unforced error.
“I tried to trust myself, to believe. That was my key,” said the 29th seeded Kudermetova, who will face fellow Russian Daria Kasaktina in her first quarter-final appearance in the singles draw at a major.
“Sometimes I tried to play harder, sometimes with the spin, a little smarter. I did a god job today.”
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
