If 22nd-seeded Madison Keys makes a deep run in the U.S. Open, tennis fans might refer to Thursday’s match on raucous Court 17 as “The Madison Miracle.”
The 2017 runner-up rallied from a 5-2 third-set deficit, staving off five match points to edge Hungary’s Anna Bondar, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5) in a second-round contest in New York.
“Yeah, that was… that was something, huh?,” said Keys, elated but exhausted, in the on-court interview after the match. “No stress, though. We all knew I had it, right? I mean you guys got me through that match and I’m so grateful.”
Bondar double-faulted on her first two match-clinching opportunities at 5-2. Keys then broke serve, but Bondar earned three additional match points in the next game. Again, she failed to convert.
Keys broke Bondar at love to even the set at 5-5, but later fell behind 5-3 in the 10-point match-deciding tiebreaker. Keys then rattled off four unanswered points and later the final three to advance to the third round in just under three hours.
In another three-setter, Japan’s Naomi Osaka, seeded No. 13, knocked off Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
Osaka appeared to be on cruise control, leading 6-2, 4-2, but dropped three consecutive service games to send the match to a third set.
But the 2018 and 2020 champion in New York hit 11 winners to only five unforced errors in the decider to oust the world’s top-ranked doubles player.
“I just told myself that it’s an honor to play on this court,” said Osaka in her on-court interview after the match. “I don’t know how many … I don’t know, I’m playing two matches back-to-back on this court. It’s a big honor for me. I just wanna keep playing in front of you guys if possible. Just try to fight as best as I can.”
Tenth-seeded Amanda Anisimova also had to go the distance to topple 18-year-old Lilli Tagger of Austria. The 2025 runner-up prevailed, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Austria’s Anastasia Potopova, the No. 24 seed, outlasted France’s Leolia Jeanjean, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
The two top-four seeds who played in primetime Thursday evening had an easier time. No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan needed just 68 minutes to move past Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in a 6-2, 6-4 win.
Even though she was forced to retire from the Cincinnati Open on Aug. 20 with a left ankle injury, Rybakina has been broken just once and hasn’t dropped a set through two U.S. Open matches.
“Very proud. It’s true, it wasn’t perfect preparation (for the U.S. Open) at all,” Rybakina said after the match. “I was a bit upset watching everybody prepare for the tournament while I was just recovering. I’m super glad and super happy to be here.”
No. 4 Coco Gauff needed two hours to come away with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) defeat of Spain’s Paula Badosa. The 2023 U.S. Open champion hit just 50% of her first serves in play and had an equal number of unforced errors and winners (21), but won 52% of her second-return points to lead to three critical breaks which helped snap a two-match losing streak against Badosa.
“I think for me it’s a good confidence booster knowing that I can get through these matches,” Gauff said. “Obviously, you know, I would prefer maybe not to play somebody I’ve lost to so many times second round. But I think today was a big confidence booster.”
The other four seeds in action on Thursday afternoon experienced more straightforward matches.
Poland’s eighth-seeded Iga Swiatek, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, routed Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska 6-3, 6-2; No. 23 Elise Mertens of Belgium defeated Uzbekistan’s Maria Timofeeva 6-2, 7-6 (5); and No. 25 Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic dismantled Great Britain’s Harriet Dart 6-2, 6-2.
Alexandra Eala, the sensation from the Philippines, got past Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-4. The 17th-seeded Eala, who played at Louis Armstrong Stadium, won 11 of 14 net points and won 27 of 50 points on her opponent’s serve.
In other evening action, fifth-seeded Russian Mirra Andreeva disposed of Germany’s Eva Lys 6-0, 6-2 in 63 minutes, while 18-year-old Iva Jovic, a 14th-seeded American, reached the third round of the U.S. Open for the first time with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Great Britain’s Francesca Jones.
Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva rallied from a rocky start to knock off No. 32 Maria Sakkari of Greece 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the only seeded upset of the day.
–Field Level Media
