Skip to content

Madison Keys beats Alison Riske in all-American final

BRENTON EDWARDS / AFP / Getty

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Former US Open finalist Madison Keys has warmed up for the Australian Open in strong form, winning an all-American final of the WTA tournament in Adelaide against Alison Riske.

The 26-year-old Keys never allowed her compatriot a look into the contest, powering her way to a 6-1, 6-2 victory in just over an hour to claim her sixth WTA title.

The former world No. 7 Keys, who has slipped to her current 87th ranking due to injuries and a form slump in recent years, had progressed to the final after overcoming a leg injury to beat third-seed Coco Gauff in three sets in another all-American match up in the semifinals.

On Saturday, Keys showed why she has been a top-ten player, with her powerful serve and attacking ground strokes proving too hot to handle for Riske as Keys claimed the first set in 29 minutes.

The 57th-ranked Riske then lost her opening service game of the second set from which she never recovered as Keys broke again late in the second set and then served it out for her first title since winning at Cincinnati in 2019.

Keys will now have a tricky Australia Open first-round opponent in American, world No. 12 and 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

Riske plays Donna Vekic in the first round at Melbourne Park.

There are three other finals scheduled among the joint ATP-WTA tournaments in Adelaide and Sydney, including Andy Murray’s first ATP tour final in more two years against Russia's Aslan Karatsev at the Sydney Tennis Classic.

___

More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox