American tennis star Madison Keys put on a brilliant performance to claim her second Rothesay International title at Eastbourne, besting Russian rival Daria Kasatkina in an epic second-set tie-break. After an hour and forty-two minutes of gripping action, Keys closed out the match with a final score of 6-2, 7-6 (13).
The 25th ranked player looked unstoppable during the first set but Kasatkina, who is ranked 11th in the world, fought back ferociously in the second set. With the match evenly poised at 4-1, Kasatkina struck back with three consecutive games to level the score. She then had the chance to push it to a third set at 6-5 up, but could not manage to close it out. In the end, Keys emerged triumphant after a dramatic tie-break that lasted 13 points.
A thrilling rematch for two times winner, Madison Keys’ triumph at Eastbourne serves as yet another reminder of her prowess on the court.
Madison Keys secured her seventh WTA title at the Eastbourne International after a thrilling final against Daria Kasatkina. The match reached a nail-biting tie-break; Keys managed to take the initiative and move 3-0 ahead, then 5-2 but failed to convert three match points. With the wind increasing, Kasatkina fought back and had four set points of her own before Keys eventually closed out the match, taking four of the last five points in the longest tie-break seen on the WTA Tour this year.
On winning the tournament, Keys said: “I love coming and playing in Eastbourne. Being able to win the title here twice now makes me have very fond memories. It has been a pretty tough year for me, and being able to hold this trophy is absolutely amazing.”
Now, Keys embarks on the next tournament: Wimbledon. Taking on British wildcard Sonay Kartal on Tuesday, while Kasatkina faces American Caroline Dolehide on Monday, both players will be looking to carry that Eastbourne success into SW19. The battle starts now; who will seize victory?
After raining out the men’s draw on Friday, the action returned to court as Argentinian fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo made a comeback to take down American Mackenzie McDonald in a hard-fought 2-6 7-5 6-2 victory.
World number 17 Tommy Paul followed up with an impressive straight sets win over unseeded Gregoire Barrere, securing a 6-4 6-3 victory and claiming his spot in the semi-finals.
Paul is now set for Saturday afternoon’s final against Cerundolo, vying for his second tour-level title of the season. With tensions high and anticipation mounting, the match promises to be an exciting showdown between two of tennis’s top contenders.
