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Madison Keys’ U.S. Open run has ended early once again.
The No. 14-seeded American was upset by Belgium’s Elise Mertens, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4, Friday night inside Louis Armstrong Stadium, marking the sixth time Keys has failed to make it past the third round of the tournament since her debut in 2011.
“First of all, I wanna say we both had a great match,” Mertens said during her post-match interview on the court. “Credit to Madison. She’s incredible. Thanks everyone for coming out tonight. It was an amazing atmosphere. I just kept fighting. I had those set points in the first set, but that’s tennis. I’m very happy I can stay another day in New York.”
In her fifth meeting against Mertens, who triumphed for the first time in their previous match in Cincinnati last year, Keys hit an egregious 69 unforced errors.
Mertens, on the other hand, won 124 total points.
Each player took a set, leaving the third — and the win — up for grabs.
Keys had a multitude of opportunities to take it for herself, but she couldn’t quite gain control of the final frame.
After powering to a 3-2 lead, Keys took a medical timeout to have a trainer come and address what appeared to be a blister on her heel.
Her ankle was ultimately taped up and play resumed.
The 29-year-old then went up 40-0 in the following game, but lost the next 10 straight points on the way to falling into a 5-3 hole.
Mertens, who also took a medical timeout in the first set after dealing with a pinched nerve in her left leg before coming to New York, won six of the next 11 points to win the match.
The unforced errors are what really bit Keys, who hadn’t dropped a set until Friday night.
Even though Mertens committed 10 double-faults, Keys wasn’t able to step up in her own service game.
Mertens will now play the winner of Aryna Sabalenka and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
“You won’t have another crowd anywhere else like this,” Mertens said. “It’s one of my favorite tournaments. It’s such a nice place to be. I just love New York.”
