NEW YORK: American Madison Keys rode the home crowd’s support at Arthur Ashe Stadium to swat aside Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-1 6-4 and reach the U.S. Open semi-finals on Wednesday.
Keys, runner-up in 2017, has suffered a handful of early exits at her home Grand Slam in recent years but has excelled in the 2023 edition and is flourishing under the bright lights at Flushing Meadows.
She next faces second seed Aryna Sabalenka, who dispatched China’s Zheng Qinwen 6-1 6-4 earlier on Wednesday to reach her fifth Grand Slam semi-final in a row.
“I just love it here. I love playing here. In front of a home crowd you can never feel like you can’t get out of any situation,” said Keys, who fended off all nine break points she faced during the match.
“I knew I was going to have to keep trying to get to the net, be aggressive.”
