THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 10, 2023

Madison Keys

Press Conference

M. KEYS/M. Andreeva

3-6, 7-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the press conference of Madison Keys.

Madison, give us your thoughts on the match today.

MADISON KEYS: Obviously very happy to get the win. Slow start on my part. But I felt like once I started getting a little bit of momentum in that second set, I think I cleaned things up pretty well. After that, it was pretty straightforward.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How hard is it to play a 16-year-old? Obviously the crowd kind of support her because she's young. Is it hard to treat her as a normal opponent?

MADISON KEYS: I think it's hard to play -- it's more that she's 16, she's very free, going to play some of her best tennis. You go in knowing there's going to be moments where she's playing incredibly well. Obviously she's been playing well to get this far.

Then there's also it's tough being on the other side of the net of a 16-year-old who is really playing with nothing to lose and you're the one that's supposed to beat her. That's always a difficult position to be in.

I think she's a really great player on top of all of that. All in all, it was a tricky match.

Q. Does that also help you, even when you're behind, she's 16, maybe she'll be a bit inconsistent?

MADISON KEYS: There's definitely that in the back of my head, just kind of knowing if I can push her and keep the pressure on and all of that. She's obviously not been in many situations like this. Just being able to use experience that I've been in.

Q. She got hit with a point penalty late on. Did you get a view of it at all? Did you think it was a bit harsh?

MADISON KEYS: I didn't see it. I kind of didn't really know what was going on.

But, I mean, I know they're pretty strict here about hitting the grass and all of that. It's tough.

Q. How would you describe the importance of the shot when you broke in the second set, and how did that play evolve into your winner with the left hand?

MADISON KEYS: I mean, I kind of have it. Like I have a pretty good lefty forehand. Just how the ball was coming, it was just easier to hit that that way.

I don't think one specific shot did anything extra. I think it just happened to be the shot that got me the break back.

Q. When you see a 16-year-old on the other side, do you sometimes with your own experience think it's a good thing that somebody is there at 16? It also brings high expectations. You know what it can also bring to the rest of your career. How do you look at that?

MADISON KEYS: I mean, I think it's great. She's obviously doing really well to get here. She got herself through quallies and won multiple matches. She's obviously a very good tennis player.

I think obviously the inexperience starts to show a little bit. I mean, she's 16 at the end of the day. But, I mean, I think, if anything, it's just more time for her that she can learn from it. It seems like she has a really great team around her.

I think if she continues to do that, all of these early matches and things like that will just be more experience for her later in her career.

Q. I think it's right in saying the last time you made the quarters here, you also played a qualifier in the fourth round, you came from a set down to win that match. Can you compare the Madison Keys who made the quarters in 2015 and the one that made it this time?

MADISON KEYS: I don't really remember her. So it's very hard to tell you what I was like in 2015.

Q. How do you think you've grown on tour over those years? You probably feel like a totally different person.

MADISON KEYS: Yes.

Q. The progression you feel you've made over those years.

MADISON KEYS: Obviously, it's been a long time, it's been a lot of years and matches. I think that there's, yeah, been a lot of experience since then.

I'm obviously really proud, I feel like I've kept a pretty high level all these years pretty consistently with just a few drops here or there. That's actually pretty hard to do.

Looking back, I think it really set me up to kind of keep putting myself as far into second weeks as possible.

Q. Bjorn is pretty chatty on the side of the court. How much of that do you hear, take in? How much do you heed his advice in the middle of a match?

MADISON KEYS: I think he's pretty chatty because I think being a player, a lot of times when you look over and you're not getting anything, you kind of want some back and forth. I think he kind of errs on the other side.

I think, I mean, most of the information I take in, it's good information obviously. I mean, I personally like it. I like having really specific things to focus on before every single point. I mean, so far it's been working, so...

Q. Obviously everybody wants to play matches where you're playing great and everything goes your way. The ones where you have to really battle, you're not playing well, you turn it around, do those in some ways give you more confidence?

MADISON KEYS: I think they give you confidence that, even if things aren't going perfectly, you can still find a way to find some good tennis. In a perfect world you win every single match nice with a bell on top.

But realistically that probably doesn't happen very consistently, especially when you're asking yourself to play high level for two weeks.

A match like today, obviously it's kind of in the back of your mind. Even you get broken early in a set or something like that, you know you've already been in the situation where you figured it out, and you can do that again.

Q. Did you ever think that maybe your chance of a quarterfinal here had gone, maybe you wouldn't get back, ever get this far into the tournament again?

MADISON KEYS: No.

Q. Why not?

MADISON KEYS: Because I've made quarterfinals and semifinals of other tournaments and slams. I don't see why not.

Q. You said she has a great game. What aspects of her game did you find the most impressive?

MADISON KEYS: I think she moves incredibly well, especially from a younger player, you don't normally see them already have the ability to get in and out of corners the way I saw her doing today.

Honestly, I think she served better than me today. I was very impressed with her serve. Overall I think she has a very solid game. It's obviously going to improve with time.

Q. What advice would you give to her to navigate the challenges that come in front of her?

MADISON KEYS: I would say ignore everyone and everything that they say unless you actually care about their opinion (smiling).

Q. You said that you started slowly. You were a set and 4-1 down. You came to the net with a lot of success. Had you forgotten the game plan or was that a change of game plan?

MADISON KEYS: That was a change of game plan. I just figured I'd start charging the net and see what happened. It's a bit of reminder to me. I kind of always forget I'm not bad at the net, and I should probably get up there more often.

I mean, honestly I thought just try to throw her off of her game a little bit, try to get up to the net. Then it started working, so I figured I'd just keep doing it.

Q. This is the first set you dropped on grass this season. Do you feel your level has upped since Eastbourne or do you think you're playing at the same level?

MADISON KEYS: I think it's hard to compare just because I think every single match is just so different, with different opponents and things like that.

I think overall I've really kind of just kept a consistent level and not had - obviously other than today - really big differences and just kind of a medium game. I don't think I've been playing, like, absolutely amazing in flashy points or having really bad decisions and things like that.

It's really just been a focus to try to have a really kind of solid, simple game plan, and just kind of play like a nice, even level of tennis.

Q. Looking ahead to the next match, obviously that match hasn't taken place yet that determines your opponent, if you could take the two potential opponents starting with Sabalenka, what are your thoughts on the challenge in facing her if she is your opponent?

MADISON KEYS: She's obviously playing really well this year. Big hitter. Big server. Very confident. I mean, honestly same with Alexandrova as well. Big hitter, big player. They both play similarly in some ways.

I mean, quite honestly it's going to be pretty similar game plan either way, whoever wins. Obviously if it's Sabalenka, she has a lot of confidence going into this match and has won a lot of matches.

Looking forward to see who I play.

Q. If it is Alexandrova?

MADISON KEYS: I can't even remember where we played. Couldn't tell you (smiling).