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Coaches View: Unlocking Keys’ Serve

Coaches View: Unlocking Keys’ Serve

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Madison Keys has powered her way into the Aegon Classic Birmingham final behind a strong serve that is more dangerous on grass. SAP Tennis Analytics for Coaches shows how playing on grass benefits the Keys service game.

In 14 clay court matches this season, Keys hit a total of 53 aces. This week in Birmingham, she’s already hit 33 aces in just four matches. That’s an average 8.2 per match compared to 3.9 per match for the season coming into this week.

Saturday’s semifinal win, which will propel Keys into the Top 10 for the first time in her career, was a good example of how Keys can use her serve to take control of a match.

Keys fell behind in her semifinal against Carla Suárez Navarro, losing the first set 3-6 while winning just 64% of her service points.

In the second set, the Keys serve was dominant. She won 91% of her service points, 20 of 22. The SAP Coaches View shows that Keys was particularly effective serving to the ad court, getting all 10 of her first serves in, and hitting all three of her aces in the set to that side.

Keys won that second set 6-3, then prevailed in the third set tie-break as she won 76% of her service points in the final set.

Grass courts have been better for the Keys serve historically. In the last two years, Keys has won 66% of her service points on the surface, compared to her overall average of just 61% in those two seasons.

The SAP Coaches View combines scoring information direct from the chair umpire with tracking data from HawkEye to allow for an in depth look at five different aspects of a match. Each tracking option can be filtered to narrow the focus to specific situations within a match, such as break points. This information is available directly to coaches in real-time during a match on their SAP tablet and also available to them online after matches.

“Service” tracking shows the landing point for all serves. The display differentiates between first serves, second serves and aces. Additional data on the screen shows the percentage of overall service points won as well as looking specifically at first and second serves.

These serving statistics will be continue to be key for Keys as she looks to ace her test in Sunday’s final against Barbora Strycova.

SAP Coaches View

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Final Preview: Keys Vs Strycova

Final Preview: Keys Vs Strycova

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Aegon Classic Birmingham, Ann Jones Centre Court, 1.30pm

Watch live action from Sunday’s Birmingham final on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

[7] Madison Keys (USA #16) vs. Barbora Strycova (CZE #30)
Head-to-head: Keys leads 2-1
Final Fact: Keys has served 33 aces in her four matches in Birmingham, compared with the 53 she hit in the entire clay court season (14 matches).

In her post-match press conference following an impressive semifinal win over the in-form CoCo Vandeweghe, Barbora Strycova was typically forthcoming about the challenge awaiting her in the final.

Madison Keys is the opponent. And a familiar one at that; the pair met twice during the clay court season, Keys prevailing first in Madrid, then again in a far tighter encounter in Rome.

“I go into that match to, I don’t want to say with nothing to lose, but it’s a final. It can change many things. It’s on grass and I like to play on grass. It’s going to be a totally different match,” Strycova said. “The last match in Rome was really tough one. I lost 6-3 in the third.

“But she’s a great player. I have to bring some good tennis.”

Keys took the latest step on her path to greatness on Saturday, confirming her ascension to the Top 10 by overcoming a rocky start to defeat Carla Suárez Navarro. It was not her only moment of anxiety en route to the final either; in the previous round she trailed by a set and a break to Jelena Ostapenko.

A devastating serve, thudding groundstrokes off either wing and the desire to move up the court at any opportunity make the American’s game ideally suited to grass – her only previous title came on the surface, two years ago in Eastbourne.

Unsurprisingly, she is not backwards in coming forwards on her love of the lawns: “This is the only surface that I have a title on. Obviously, it’s one of my favorites. It definitely suits my game. I feel pretty comfortable playing on it. Hopefully, I can win a couple more tournaments on this. I would love to do well at Wimbledon whenever I can.

“I’m not going to sit here and say I’m going to win Wimbledon, but obviously, I’d really like to!”

While Keys has stuttered at time in the past two rounds, Strycova has dropped just one set all week. However, the at time biblical rain England’s second city has been subjected to this week has ensured her path to the finals – alongside Karolina Pliskova she is also still in the hunt for the doubles title – has been far from straightforward. Indeed, over the past two days she has played five matches, spending a fraction under seven hours on court.  

Road To The Final
Madison Keys
First Round: d. Timea Babos, 76(3) 64 (1:27)
Second Round: d. [Q] Tamira Paszek, 61 63 (0:58)
Quarterfinals: d. Jelena Ostapenko, 67(1) 64 62 (1:59)
Semifinals: d. [6] Carla Suárez Navarro, 36 63 76(3) (1:42)

Barbora Strycova
First Round: d. [8] Karolina Pliskova, 64 76(7) (2:02)
Second Round: d. Heather Watson, 75 64 (1:40)
Quarterfinals: d. Tsvetana Pironkova, 62 75 (1:35)
Semifinals: d. CoCo Vandeweghe, 26 64 63 (2:10)

SAP Insights

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Keys Captures Second Career Title

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BIRMINGHAM, Great Britain – Already assured of becoming the first American to debut in the Top 10 since Serena Williams in April 1999 by reaching the Aegon Classic final, Madison Keys went one better in Birmingham, defeating tour veteran Barbora Strycova, 6-3, 6-4, to win her second WTA title.

Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Keys had been made to work through a rainy week in Birmingham, winning a pair of thrilling three-setters against Jelena Ostapenko and Carla Suárez Navarro just to clinch her Top 10 debut. Strycova, by contrast, had dropped just one set en route to her second final of what has been a career-best season for the Czech, who is also set to play the doubles final alongside countrywoman Karolina Pliskova against Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva.

But it was the 21 year old American who drew first blood on Sunday’s final, racing out to a 3-0 lead and never looking back in a decisive opening set.

“I think I got off to a good start in the first set breaking early,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I think I held onto the that lead pretty well. Then in the second set, she definitely raised her level.”

Strycova indeed kept it close in the second, engineering a break point in the eighth game that would have allowed her to serve for a decider, but Keys kept her cool and won the last three games on the bounce to win her first WTA title since 2014 – also on grass in Eastbourne.

“There was definitely a couple of games, especially when I was serving, that I really had to dig deep and figure it out. Luckily I was able to.”

A quarterfinalist at last year’s Wimbledon Championships, Keys played near-perfect grass court tennis during the 79 minute affair, hitting 27 winners to 16 unforced errors and winning 13 of 18 forays to the net.

“I’m feeling pretty good. I think getting this many matches in a row was a huge opportunity that I think that can definitely help me at Wimbledon.

“I obviously really love the surface, so the more I get to play on it, the happier I am.”

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RTS Update: Keys On The Upswing

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Not only did Madison Keys become the first American to debut in the WTA’s Top 10 since April 1999, but the Aegon Classic champion also dramatically improved her chances for a debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

Moving up six spots from No.13, Keys moved into the Top 8 at No.7, just ahead of 2014 finalist Simona Halep. The Top 6 remained unchanged after a week of play in Birmingham and the inaugural Mallorca Open, with Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka, Garbiñe Muguruza, defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska, and Carla Suárez Navarro all retained their places on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.

Birmingham finalist Barbora Strycova also edged closer to the Top 8, moving up three spots to No.13. Caroline Garcia captured her first-ever title on grass and roared into the Top 16 from No.23.

The final Wimbledon preparations continue this week in Eastbourne, with Radwanska, Belinda Bencic, Timea Bacsinszky, and Petra Kvitova all in action.

RTS Ranking Movers

Madison Keys: No. 13 to No.7 (+6)
Caroline Garcia: No.23 to No.16 (+7)
Barbora Strycova: No.16 to No.13 (+3)
Jelena Ostapenko No.28 to No.26 (+2)

Click here to see the full Road To Singapore leaderboard standings following Birmingham.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Players are making themselves at home in the desert as they prepare for the BNP Paribas Open which gets underway at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Wednesday. Famous for the surrounding mountain ranges and its hot climate, the BNP Paribas Open is the first WTA Premier Mandatory tournament of the year.

While some players have been enjoying the practice courts under the palm trees and Californian sun, others have been taking in views of a different kind as they soak up the sights of the Golden State.

Chan Yung-Jan admired the view over downtown Los Angeles while exploring the Griffith Observatory.

Daria Kasatkina experienced colder climes at the top of this mountain.

With a stunning mountain range in the background, Belinda Bencic enjoyed her practice.

Alison Riske was up early to hit the courts.

)>Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is excited to be back at the BNP Paribas Open.

Julia Goerges and Elena Vesnina were all smiles after their practice.

Roberta Vinci basked in the early morning sun on Monday.

Tsvetana Pironkova is also happy to be back at the BNP Paribas Open.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – CiCi Bellis will be looking to continue her meteoric rise to tennis superstardom as the American teenager enters a star-studded field at this week’s BNP Paribas Open.

Following on from some impressive victories of late, including a win over Agnieszka Radwanska to become the youngest quarterfinalist at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships since 2001, Bellis has climbed to No.55 in the WTA rankings and a certain Chris Evert thinks it won’t be long before the precocious talent rises even higher.

“There are a handful of players who are going to overpower her right now, but by the end of the year I wouldn’t be surprised if she was Top 20,” Evert said in a recent interview with the NY Times.

“Her legs are rock hard. I think the off-court training has helped her a lot. Two years ago, she would counterpunch and would sort of absorb power from her opponent, and now she’s giving it.”

It’s hard to believe that Bellis will only turn 18 on April 8. But Evert, who has been mentoring Bellis through a USTA program, has been impressed with a maturity and willingness to learn that could take her to the very top of the game.

“I’ve been so impressed by her maturity and self-reliance and just the hunger she has to learn. Her eyes are wide open to any information that you can give her. Bottom line is no drama. Some of these other girls, when they are practicing, it’s yelling and up and down and emotions and body language, and with her, it’s steadfast.”

Bellis is set to play Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens in the opening round of her first Indian Wells and, if successful, will face French Open Champion Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round.

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