Cincinnati Masters: Elena Rybakina vs Madison Keys – Preview, Head-to-Head, and Prediction

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210731 -- TOKYO, July 31, 2021 -- Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan hits a return during the tennis women s singles bronze medal match against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Olympische Spiele, Olympia, OS in Tokyo, Japan, on July 31, 2021. TOKYO2020JAPAN-TOKYO-OLY-TENNIS-WOMEN S SINGLES-BRONZE MEDAL DuxXiaoyi PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxCHN

The 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina will lock horns with Madison Keys in the quarter-final stage of the Cincinnati Masters.

Elena Rybakina

The 23-year-old started the year on a great note as she made it to the finals in Adelaide before losing to Ashleigh Barty in straight sets. However, her performances in the following tournaments dipped considerably. She reached the quarter-final stage of a competition on only one occasion prior to her Wimbledon campaign and it came at the Indian Wells Masters. She was ousted in the second round at the Australian Open. At the French Open, she made it to the third round before losing to Madison Keys in three sets. Her dream run began at Wimbledon with wins in straight sets against the likes of CoCo Vandeweghe, Bianca Andreescu, Qinwen Zheng, and Petra Martic in the first four rounds. Rybakina defeated Ajla Tomljanovic, Simona Halep, and Ons Jabeur to bag her first Grand Slam title.

Since her triumph at the All England Club, Rybakina hasn’t been in great form. She lost in the first round of the Silicon Valley Classic against Daria Kasatkina. At the Canadian Open, she reached the second round before losing to Coco Gauff. At the Cincinnati Masters, Rybakina has looked much better and has defeated her opponents with considerable ease. She defeated Mayar Sherif 6-3, 6-2 in the first round. In the second round, she faced Garbine Muguruza and won the match 6-3, 6-1. Alison Riske-Amritraj was Rybakina’s opponent in the round of 16. The Russian-born tennis pro won the match 6-2, 6-4.

Madison Keys

The American tennis pro pulled off a huge upset in the round of 16 as she defeated World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. Prior to this victory, Keys hadn’t even won a set against a No. 1 player.

Madison Keys at BNP Paribas (BNP Paribas)

Keys had an impressive start to 2022 as she won a title in Adelaide. She followed it up with a semifinal run at the Australian Open. She also made it to the fourth round at Roland Garros. She has been in great form at the Cincinnati Masters as she has won all three of her matches in straight sets. In the first round, she defeated Yulia Putintseva 7-5, 6-3. Her next win came against 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. Keys will be high on confidence after defeating Iga Swiatek.