She struck 12 winners and 38 unforced errors to Keys’ 24 and 49.
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“This was an incredible experience and no badly how much this hurts today, there are so many positive to take away from it, I would never trade that in for anything”, the 21-year-old Keys said. The Czech lefty earned the opportunity to serve for the match with a 6-5 edge. That break was quickly consolidated and the American could not survive on her next service game, which saw the scores hit deuce four times, netting to hand Kvitova a 3-0 lead.
Petra Kvitova during the Olympic action.
Keys had a double set point on Kvitova’s serve in the first set but failed to capitalize. She had two crucial break points again – which were set points – when Kvitova was serving at 4-5 to stay in the set. The American held all the momentum after taking the 4-2 lead and needed to continue to be aggressively consistent in order to force a third and final set. And though Keys came back strong to win the second set, she was frustrated throughout the match, slamming her racket often. The world number nine put herself within a game of a deciding set where she could possibly be a set away from a beloved bronze medal. Keys did just that with a clutch, stylish break to love to complete a brilliant fightback set in 37 solid minutes.
Madison Keys at the Rio Olympic Games. “I’m very proud that I could bring it to the Czech Republic”. However, in order to avoid back-to-back losses, Kvitova has to be more consistent with her service game. Keys had plenty of chances to break and take control of the match but just wasn’t able to finish the job.
The gold medal match between Angelique Kerber, the second seed who took down Keys in the semifinals and Monica Puig, the unseeded Puerto Rican who bested Kvitova in the other semifinal, will also take place on Saturday.
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Keys was not the only player who was emotional Saturday, as Kvitova told reporters that she was sorry if she broke into tears.
