Madison Keys, the second seed, made a strong start to her grass-court season by reaching the quarter-finals of the Queen’s Club Championships. She defeated Anastasia Zakharova 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday. Two more American players, Emma Navarro and Amanda Anisimova, also moved into the next round.
In her first match on grass this season, Keys faced a bit of a challenge early in the first set and was trailing 3-1. However, she stayed calm and quickly turned things around, winning five games in a row to take the set. She finished it off with a powerful ace down the middle.
Zakharova had some good moments in the second set but struggled against the strength and pace of Keys. The American managed to break serve five times and sealed the win with an unreturned serve, finishing the match in just 68 minutes.
“Playing your first match on grass is always tricky, especially against someone who’s already played a few matches,” Keys said after the match. “The first few games were a bit shaky as I was trying to get comfortable, but once I settled in, I think I played really well. I’m happy to get another match here.”
Third seed Navarro had a tough start, losing the first set badly 1-6, and even faced a match point but still managed to beat Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3.
During the second set, after Navarro saved the match point, Haddad Maia was leading 4-2 in the tiebreak. However, the Brazilian lost focus when the game paused for a spectator’s medical help.
After that, Haddad Maia started making mistakes, and Navarro took advantage. In the final set, Haddad Maia lost her serve due to a double fault, and Navarro won the match, which lasted almost three hours.
Navarro said, “It wasn’t easy. I think I’ve played more matches against Bea than anyone else. We always play tough matches that go to three sets.”
She also added, “I’ve only been playing on grass for about four days, so it’s a quick change for me.”
Navarro will now play the quarter-final against Anisimova, who quickly beat Sonay Kartal 6-1, 6-3 in just 64 minutes. Anisimova had also defeated another British player, Jodie Burrage, earlier in the tournament.
“I’m really sorry, everyone,” she said to the home fans. “The matches here have been hard, but I am enjoying playing and happy to move to the next round.
“There are many strong girls in America right now, and I’m glad to see us doing well. I think my next match with Emma will be tough. She is a strong player, and I’m excited to play her.”
Any hope for a British win in the doubles disappeared when Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter lost 6-2, 7-5 to the top seeds Erin Routliffe and Lyudmyla Kichenok.
