WTA
Madrid
Madison Keys was down 6-0, 2-0 against Ons Jabeur in Tuesday’s quarterfinals at the Mutua Madrid Open, but by the end of 1 hour and 33 minutes on court, she’d sealed a spot in the semi-finals with a 0-6, 7-5, 6-1 come-from-behind victory.
After beating former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 6-4 in the last 16, the 2022 Madrid champion raced out to an equally-dominant first set against Keys, winning it in just 24 minutes. But the American wasn’t about to go down easily. She quelled Jabeur’s momentum in the second set, as she came from an early break deficit and kept the lead on serve for the rest of the set thereafter, before breaking the Tunisian at 15 to force the match to a final set.
The momentum stayed with Keys into the final set: She lost just 11 points in a 6-1 frame (having won the first five games) to complete the comeback.
For a spot in her four career WTA 1000-level final, Keys will next face World No.1 Iga Swiatek, who came from a set behind in her own quarterfinal win against No.11 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia earlier in the day. Though Swiatek owns a 2-1 head-to-head edge against Keys, the 2017 US Open finalist earned a victory the last time they played in Cincinnati two years ago.
