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Madison Keys sends Venus Williams out

By Jacob Akindele
28 January 2015   |   6:18 pm
THERE is a new face of American tennis, at least in the ladies game; as 19-year old Madison Keys earned the victory in the match against Venus Williams, 6-3; 4-6; 6-4.   Williams served first and was stretched to deuce before holding on to her service game. She had the opportunity to break Madison on…

THERE is a new face of American tennis, at least in the ladies game; as 19-year old Madison Keys earned the victory in the match against Venus Williams, 6-3; 4-6; 6-4.

  Williams served first and was stretched to deuce before holding on to her service game. She had the opportunity to break Madison on her serve but the younger lady survived. Games then went with serve although it took longer points for Madison to win her service games. 

  Venus won the fifth game without dropping a point on serve. Madison broke Venus’s serve in the 7th game in which the veteran took only one point and then extended the lead by holding serve. At 3-5 down, Venus’ attempt to stay in the set was thwarted by Madison who took the first point on a deft touch volley and hit a service return winner at 0-40 to claim the set.

  The first two games were won on serve but Venus took Madison’s serve twice to lead 4-1 and looked to run out the teenager who grimaced after losing the point to 30-all and held her left thigh. At changeover, she requested for the on-court trainer who gave her some treatment on court and sent for the doctor. 

  A three-minute medical time-out enabled Madison to go into locker room for further treatment. She returned with her left thigh taped. Madison won the next four points taking Venus’s serve and two points on her serve which she eventually held to reduce the tally to 4-3.Madison received further treatment on court and took Venus\’ serve to level games at 4-all. The ninth game was drawn out but Venus took the service break to lead 5-4. Serving for the set, she dropped only one point and sealed it off with an ace serve.

  In the decisive third set, Venus had a break point in the first game but lost it on a missed backhand volley.  An unsuccessful call challenge by Madison led to deuce before the youngster took the game. Venus held her game delivering an ace in the process but having four deuced points before an ace gave her the advantage she clinched. 

  Then she broke Madison to lead 3-1.but her opponent reduced the tally by holding and breaking Venus serve in the 6th game. Serving with new balls in the7th game Madison lost her service but promptly broke back to level at 4-games apiece. Madison fought hard and succeeded in holding the ninth game. Serving to level, Venus lost the longest rally of the match to go down 0-15, then 0-30. 

  With an easy put-away ball near the net, Venus hit hard crosscourt to the waiting racket of Madison who floated the ball back to earn match-point. In the final point, a short floater hit by Venus to the service box was driven hard and Venus managed to get only the tip of her racket on the ball which went off into the crowd.

  Madison handed Venus her first match loss in 2015, after 9 consecutive victories in her come-back bid.  As a three year old, Venus and Serena were her idols who gave her inspiration to start playing tennis. She is coached by America’s Lindsey Davenport, an arch-rival of the Williams sisters before her retirement to raise a family of four children.

 She will now face Serena in the semifinals! 

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