Madison Keys got it done, she won her first grass title since 2016 beating Daria Kasatkina in the 2023 Eastbourne International final.
It's been a very interesting week on the WTA side of the Eastbourne International. Madison Keys had one of those events when she amazes everyone with her tennis reminding us what she's capable of.
It happens once in a while which is a shame but she was happy to get it done this week. The American put together a very impressive week beating Coco Gauff to book a spot in the final against Daria Kasatkina.
The Russian didn't play in the UK last year due to the ban on Russian players but had a really warm welcome upon her return. She won a couple of matches and quickly found herself in the final trying to win her maiden grass trophy. It's something that eluded her in 2021 when she lost to Jabeur in the Birmingham final.
The first set proved rather uneventful as Keys was able to dominate play from the start. Both players served rather well but it's far more important for Keys who enjoys an aggressive style of tennis. She attacked relentlessly early taking a 3-0 lead adding one more break later on to finish the set off 6-2.
Kasatkina was simply unable to match the power of Keys as the American is generally one of the better baseline players when she's 'on'. It didn't change in the second set as Keys once again took an early break coming only two games away from victory 4-1.
Things changed in the next few games as Kasatkina found better solutions and Keys started to miss more. The American has those moments when she gets betrayed by her shots and that's what happened in the second set. Kasatkina managed to pull it back to 4-4 with a golden chance to send the match into a deciding set.
The Russian was up 6-5 with a chance to serve out the second set but couldn't get it done as Keys found her laser precision just in time. She broke to force a tiebreak and then closed it out 15-13 in the tiebreak. Final score was 6-2 7-6(13) for the American. Her 7th career trophy.
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