Madison Keys gets back-to-back Adelaide International championship Keys defeats Peaula in a game 6-3 4-6 6-1 despite her sports injury.
It was her ninth career title, which proves her good preparation for the Australian Open after she reached for the quarterfinals in Auckland last week.
In the one hour and forty-three-minute game, Keys proved she was more than capable of powering through her leg pain to defeat the world number seven tennis player, with ten aces and 26 winners.
“I haven’t been back (to Adelaide) since 2022, and I was lucky enough to lift the trophy then,” Keys reflected after her victory. “And now I’m back, and I’m holding it once again. Thus I feel that I should just continually visit Adelaide. Clearly, I do well here.”
The match started with Keys going on the rampage which saw her win the first set in 30 minutes. But the tide turned dramatically in the second set with Keys on a break point 0-3 and then requiring a much-needed off-court medical time out. She came back out onto the court with her left leg very bandaged but Pegula had established enough rallies to take the second set.
However, Keys report tested great stamina in the final set as she dug deep to complete the match. To her age, 29.After getting accustomed to the pace at which the match was set she was able to clinch five straight games on the final set to clinch the championship.
Her performance demonstrated why she’s considered a dangerous opponent heading into the year’s first Grand Slam.
It was some welcome confidence for Keys as the manifest prepares for her first-round game against fellow American-born Ann Li at Melbourne Park on Tuesday. Now ranked 19th for the Australian Open, Keys has shown that she may rise to the event’s occasion despite her disability.
For Pegula, who played constantly through the tournament, the focus now turns to her Australian Open, where she comes up against Australia’s Own, Maya Joint in the first round.
The little consolation given by the runner-up performance in Adelaide is that she comes to the season opener as one of the seeds.
The all-American final in Adelaide proved that the United States has star-studded women’s tennis contenders and provided a clear flavour of things to come ahead of the Australian Open.
