Australian Open champion and World No. 6 suffers shock 7-6, 6-7, 5-7 defeat to 82nd-ranked Renata Zarazua of Mexico in gruelling three-hour first-round encounter; American says she felt paralysed by nerves and made bad decisions
A disappointed Madison Keys after her Round One loss to Renata Zarazua at the US Open on Monday. Pics/Getty Images
Pretty much from the get-go at the US Open, Madison Keys could tell she wasn’t hitting the ball well or feeling very much at all like the self-confident player who claimed her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.
After 89 unforced errors, including 14 double-faults, in a game that lasted three hours and 10 minutes, World No. 6 Keys was gone from Flushing Meadows in the first round with a 7-6 (12-10), 6-7 (3-7), 5-7 loss to 82nd-ranked Renata Zarazua of Mexico.
“For the first time in a while... my nerves really got the better of me, and it kind of became a little bit paralysing,” said Keys, the runner-up in New York to good friend Sloane Stephens in 2017 and a semi-finalist here in 2018 and 2023. “I felt like I was just slow. I wasn’t seeing things the way that I wanted to, which resulted in a lot of bad decisions and lazy footwork,” she added.
The 30-year-old made so many mistakes off the spin-laden shots coming her way that Zarazua needed to produce just eight winners to earn the biggest victory of her career. Zarazua had previously lost in the first or second round of all eight of her previous Slam appearances.
Yet somehow, it was Zarazua who managed to deal with any nervousness better, despite a 0-6 record against opponent’s ranked in the top 10 of the WTA rankings.
“I’m a little bit small in height [5 foot 3 inches], so coming in here, it was like: Oh, my God. This [stadium] is huge,” Zarazua said about the Arthur Ashe Stadium — the largest tennis arena in the world, which holds nearly 24,000 spectators.
“I was just trying to focus on the court. I knew that when I retire, I’m going to be really happy about this and told myself to enjoy it. I’m just very happy [with the win]. I think it hasn’t really kicked in yet,” said the ecstatic 27-year-old, who got into tennis after dabbling with gymnastics and swimming.
89
No. of unforced errors made by Madison Keys vs Renata Zarazua
Renata Zarazua exults after beating Madison Keys on Monday
Who is Renata Zarazua?
. Born in Mexico City, Zarazua was raised by a family of tennis aficionados. Her older brother, Patricio, played the sport at college level while her great-uncle, Vicente, represented Mexico in 16 Davis Cup ties and even won gold in the exhibition doubles at the 1968 Mexico Olympics
. She has won two WTA Challenger singles titles and one doubles crown to go with four ITF singles trophies and 17 ITF doubles titles
. In 2020, Zarazua became the first Mexican to qualify for the French Open main draw in 20 years. That year, she also made a run to the semi-finals of the Mexico Open
. On Monday, she became the first Mexican to defeat a Top-10 seed in a Slam since Angelica Gavaldon beat Jana Novotna at the 1995 Australian Open
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
