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January 25, 2022
After a convincing 2022 Australian Open quarter final victory over Czech Republic’s top tennis star Barbora Krejcikpva 6-3, 6-2, former US Open Finalist Madison Keys finds herself in the Grand Slam spotlight once more.
She is incredibly happy to be there.
Sometimes time away helps you appreciate how hard it is to get to a Grand Slam semi-final.
Many, including us, given Madison’s incredible serve and powerful shot making, wonder why the young American hasn’t won a Grand Slam title yet.
On August 30, 2021, Femcompetitor Magazine analyzed, “Ah yes, the 2017 US Open Finals. What a memory. There we will go by memory because we remember it so well. Especially the warm hug felt around the world after Sloane defeated Madison.
In the finals. On the world’s greatest stage.
It was beautiful and sincere.
So did we read this year’s US Open schedule correctly? Madison is going to face Sloane in the first round? Some people make it happen, we’re now wondering what the heck just happened.
Why are these two former finalists meeting in the first round of the mighty US Open?
It’s about the slide.
As of this writing, Madison is number 41 on the WTA rankings list. Sloane is 64.
That is quite a slide.
Now if they hug at the conclusion of the match where one will exit, it might be similar to the embrace after an intense group therapy session where professional female tennis players sit and discuss why their once high ranking careers are declining. Sliding.”
How bad did things get in 2021?
Femcompetitor adds, “As reported on August 10, 2021 by montrealgazette.com, “Montreal tennis fans were able to celebrate a big victory on Monday, but it didn’t come from the player they expected to deliver.
Rebecca Marino, a 30-year-old Vancouver native who is ranked 220th, upset 16th-seeded Madison Keys of the U.S. 6-3, 6-3 in first-round action at the National Back Canadian Open women’s championships at the Jarry Tennis Centre.”
Madison was just defeated, not in a three set knock down drag out affair, but a two set sweep.
After her victory over Barbora, Madison admitted in an interview with retired tennis star Jelena Dokic that 2021 was a very tough year.
Her record certainly speaks to that since coming in to this year’s Aussie Open she posted at number 51.
Well, that was then and this is now.
Leading up to this Grand Slam, Madison won the title in the warm-up tournament 2022 Adelaide International 2 defeating compatriot Alison Riske in the final.
She is surging and peaking at the right time.
For the record, Madison has been ranked as high as world No. 7 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), which she first achieved in October 2016.
Our luminary has played in one Grand Slam tournament final at the 2017 US Open, competed at the 2016 WTA Finals, and was a semifinalist at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
She has won six WTA tournaments, five of which were at the Premier level, and she achieved her biggest title at the 2019 Cincinnati Masters, a Premier 5 event.
The substantial resume has been there for some time but according to some announcers, recently, not the right focus and certainly not the right shot making.
The team at tennisworldusa.org reported, “Former world No. 7 Madison Keys revealed she decided to go for her shots after losing the first set against Wang Qiang and her tactic ultimately paid off. Keys, now ranked at No. 51 in the world, edged out Wang 4-6 6-3 7-6 (2) to reach the Australian Open round-of-16.”
Good for Madison, because in watching that odd match against Wang Qiang, we weren’t sure what she was thinking. Given her shot selection and errors, it was almost as though she were trying to keep Wang Qiang in the match. If that was her intention, she certainly did a great job of it.
Glad she survived. Now she appears to be thinking straight. Her big shots are performing that way.
To win her first game against Barbora, Madison sent a screaming forehand down the right side of the court to go up 1-0.
Then there is Madison’s big serve which she used to ace Barbora and win the first set.
While we won’t say it was a routine win, it was just good to see Madison win with consistency and great decision making.
Known for having a fast serve and one of the most powerful forehands in the game, Madison has used her aggressive playing style to become one of the leaders of the next generation of American tennis stars alongside Amanda Anisimova, Coco Gauff, Sofia Kenin, Danielle Collins and Jessica Pegula.
2022 for Madison has been a resurgence of sorts.
Madison gives some of the credit to the city of Orlando, Florida where she trains during the summer.
The City of Orlando is nicknamed “the City Beautiful”.
Orlando is one of the most-visited cities in the world primarily due to tourism, major events, and convention traffic; in 2018, the city drew more than 75 million visitors. The two largest and most internationally renowned tourist attractions in the Orlando area are the Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Theme Park.
Orlando had a population of 307,573 in the 2020 census, making it the 67th-largest city in the United States, the fourth-largest city in Florida, and the state’s largest inland city.
Madison’s main interest in the city is Orlando’s summer weather.
During the height of Orlando’s humid summer season, high temperatures are typically in the low 90s while low temperatures rarely fall below the low the 70s.
Simply stated, it is hot and humid all day and night.
Training in that environment will get you ready for the hot Januarys of Melbourne, Australia.
Could this be the Grand Slam that Madison finally breaks through and wins?
Against Barbora, it was clear that Madison is physically fit.
As she powers her way into the semi-finals, it will absolutely require her to be mentally fit as well.
It will jump start her hopes that 2022 will be a great year, the type that Madison has been capable of all along.
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