Madison Keys powered her way into the third round with a comprehensive 6-4, 7-6 win over the Russian Elizaveta Kulichkova. The victory, achieved in 90 minutes on the backwater of Court 8, will have come as profound relief to Keys, who is ranked 21 in the world. She suffered flu and crashed out of Eastbourne on the first round. Here, she didn’t bring her A game. With preparation limited, that was understandable. Fortunately her opponent forgot to bring a first serve.
Thus we learned that even a below-par Keys cannot be overcome with inoffensive, increasingly hesitant second serves.