Keys Admits To Nerves In Surprise US Open Defeat

Australian Open champion Madison Keys admitted nerves got the better of her “for the first time in a while” as she suffered a shock defeat by Mexico’s Renata Zarazua in the first round of the US Open.

The sixth seed produced an error-strewn performance in her first home major match as a Grand Slam champion, making 89 unforced errors in a 6-7 (10-12) 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 defeat.

“I feel like today for the first time in a while, my nerves really got the better of me, and it kind of became a little bit paralysing,” Keys said.

“You always kind of feel first-round jitters, and as the day is getting closer, you’re feeling a little bit more and more nervous.”

Keys’ year started with a superb victory against Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final, her first career Slam, but she has struggled for consistency since.

After reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open, the 30-year-old suffered a surprise third-round Wimbledon exit to 37-year-old Laura Siegemund.

In New York, Keys made 37 unforced errors in the first set alone but managed to take it on a tie-break after world number 82 Zarazua spurned five set points.

The match looked there for the taking for Keys as she breezed to a 3-0 lead in the next set, but the 2017 runner-up in New York then lost four consecutive games.

She managed to take the set to a tie-break, but Keys’ 13th double fault handed Zarazua three set points, but she only needed one.

“I want to win, but just feeling like winning matters just way too much. I just couldn’t quite separate myself from that,” Keys added.

“Then once you start playing badly, it just kind of all snowballs.

“I felt like I was just slow, I wasn’t seeing things the way that I wanted to, which I feel like resulted in a lot of bad decisions and lazy footwork.”

Keys’ coach and husband Bjorn Fratangelo offered advice and encouragement throughout – at one point saying: “It’s just a sport, nothing’s riding on the line” – but the American’s play remained erratic.

The deciding set went with serve until Zarazua broke in the eighth game, but Keys broke back immediately.

However, it was not to be for 30-year-old Keys, who would have been targeting a deep run following her maiden major in Melbourne at the start of the year.

Zarazua secured her first victory against a top-10 player when Keys netted on match point, sparking wild celebrations among the Mexican’s support team after a contest lasting three hours and 10 minutes.

BBC.com