Gauff vs Keys: things we learned

The tennis was scratchy more often than it wasn’t, but in the end Gauff padded that count of the only statistic that matters to become the youngest player to record 25 match wins at Roland-Garros since Martina Hingis. 

In the process, she halted Keys' 11-match Grand Slam winning streak, and levelled the pair's head-to-head at three apiece.

The 21-year-old American will face either Mirra Andreeva or Lois Boisson in the semi-finals on Thursday.

Scroll down to find out what we learned from this all-American quarter-final clash… 

Keys forehand vs Coco’s wheels

Challenge number one for Gauff: don’t let the biggest weapon on the court beat you. Challenge number one for Keys: beat Gauff with the biggest weapon on the court, her tyrannical forehand.

Let the chess match begin…

“Her forehand is one of the best if not the best on tour,” Gauff said. “I was just trying my best to get it on the other side of the court.” 

Keys had the edge early, launching a 160 kmph forehand winner, a gateway to a third consecutive break to start the match. Then the matchup turned in Gauff’s favour for a spell, as the American prodded Keys and put her on the run by using the crosscourt backhand to force Keys to chase down the crosscourt forehand. 

Both continued to seek supremacy in this critical department as the opening set wore on. 

Keys' tenth forehand winner - a pulsating inside-in, down-the-line scorcher - got her to 5-6, 30-all. She added two more in the set, just enough to offset 19 unforced errors, and she claimed the tense tiebreak. 

But Gauff was undaunted. She continued to use her variety and exceptional retrieval skills to take Keys out of her comfort zone and force her to hit the extra ball. The No.2 seed had more success as the contest wore on, and totally took control of proceedings in the decider. 

Coco vs Coco? 

Gauff entered Wednesday’s quarter-final with the fewest aces (5) and most double-faults (21) among remaining women at the start of the match.

The theme prevailed through the opening set, as her seventh double-fault gave Keys her second set point, which she converted convincingly. Gauff committed three double-faults in the tiebreak. 

Credit Gauff for lifting her level in the second and third sets. Only three more double-faults came, and she peaked on serve in the final set, winning all 10 first-serve points and dropping just two points on serve overall in the decider. 

A break machine 

Gauff may have had troubles on serve at times, but she more than made up for the deficiency with another sterling performance on return. It’s uncanny how dialled-in that facet of Gauff’s game has been during the Paris fortnight. She didn’t drop a beat on Wednesday. 

Despite losing the first set, she won 12 of 15 second-serve return points and broke Keys three times. She won 67 percent of her return points overall, and finished the match with nine breaks across Keys’ 15 service games. 

She has won 34 of 50 return games through five rounds, and claimed 75 percent of the second-serve return points she has played, which leads all remaining players by far. 

Winning ugly is... beautiful?

Gauff made 41 unforced errors in total, and managed just 15 winners. She dropped the opening set after a dismal tiebreak that featured a litany of unforced errors. 

Did she get discouraged? Absolutely not. 

The No.2 seed was a beacon of positivity in the contest, and her efforts were rewarded as she used her supreme conditioning and athleticism to put Keys under the gun. She was more than happy to muddy up the waters and she was able to force her opponent into a total lack of comfort.

Keys hit 25 forehand winners, but Gauff’s ability to blanket the court contributed significantly to her 60 unforced errors. 

“I knew that I just had to be able to run today, and as soon as the ball came short, punish her for it,” Gauff said. 

With today's win the 2022 Roland-Garros runner-up improved her winning streak in deciding sets at Roland-Garros to four – she has not lost a deciding set here since 2020. Her overall record on the Parisian clay now stands at a sparkling 25-5.

“It means a lot, especially getting through this tough match today – it was not an easy match," Gauff said. "I have a lot more work here left to do. I’ll savour this one today and I’ll be ready for tomorrow’s match.”