Madison Keys has enjoyed a winning start to this year’s Cincinnati Open after fighting back to knock out Eva Lys.
Keys is the sixth seed at the Cincinnati Open, which she takes on after falling in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open.
Home favourite Victoria Mboko won the Canadian Open, with the champion having since decided to withdraw from Cincinnati.
Montreal runner-up Naomi Osaka has also taken the decision to withdraw from the WTA 1000 event, which world number one Aryna Sabalenka is playing.
Sabalenka will play Emma Raducanu after winning her opener, while Keys will take on qualifier Aoi Ito next.
Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesMadison Keys shares verdict on Cincinnati Open fans after opening win
The American received a bye in the first round, and is now into the third round after beating Lys 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(7-1).
Speaking of the fans after her opening win, Keys said: “I’ve always loved this tournament and it’s always packed.
“There’s never any match I’ve ever played where you look around and there’s not hundreds of people around.
“I think that part of that is that this tournament has been here for so long, but the fans are very knowledgeable.
“They’re very big tennis fans, and I feel like it’s such a great central location for a lot of Midwesterners to come. It’s always one of my favorite tournaments and I think the fans are a huge part of that.”
Madison Keys analyses her current level ahead of her next match at the Cincinnati Open
Keys has really enjoyed her time in Cincinnati over the years, having won 18 matches there throughout her career.
It represents her highest single-event total after the 21 in Charleston for the current Australian Open champion.
Analysing her current level, the 30-year-old said: “I’m feeling pretty good. It’s obviously a long year, started off on a really big note.
“But I feel like I’ve had probably some of the best wins of my career and it’s probably the most consistent that I’ve been.
“So, I really just feel like I’m trekking along, one tournament after another. I’m looking forward to hopefully finishing the season on as good of a note as I started.”
But now looking to cause an upset against Keys in Cincinnati is Ito, who is currently ranked 94th in the world.
The Japanese 21-year-old just knocked out 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, winning their meeting 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.