Madrid Open: Madison Keys Reveals How a ‘F**K It’ Mindset Drastically Changed Her Fate on Her Unfavourable Surface

When Madison Keys overcame Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open, she did so after trailing by eight games. But even in the heat of the victory, the question remains: what crucial adjustments in her strategy got her to the Madrid semifinals? Recently, the American revealed her thought process behind such an amazing achievement.

“The key was to get a game,” says the 29-year-old, but competing against Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur to reach the semi-finals is not that easy. In a press conference, Keys stated, “I was trying to force something to happen, and I think, as everyone knows, when you’re trying to force something to happen it seems like it gets further and further away from you.”

Keys provided a candid description of the mental transformation that helped her go to the Madrid Open semifinals. It’s clear that this shift in viewpoint allowed her to perform at her peak and produce successful outcomes on the court.

Further, she added, “So finally really just honestly saying, F-it, and I’m just going go out and do my best, and we’ll see what happens. Then I really feel like Ive finally been able to kind of work myself into playing some good tennis here.”

Since the tournament moved from hard courts to clay in 2009, no American male player has advanced to the final. Jessica Pegula was the first American woman to even appear in a Madrid final in 2022 since Serena Williams won the title in 2013.

Beyond Madison Key’s accomplishments on the court, Taylor Fritz also had a big influence at the Madrid Open in 2022. The American player surprised everyone by making it all the way to the semifinals and proving himself. During his voyage, Fritz triumphed against strong opponents, including Francisco Cerundolo, whom he overcame in three sets during the quarterfinals, and Hubert Hurkacz, the eighth seed.

Fritz pulled a similar Madison Key’s Madrid run 

While the ATP player gave tough competition, he believes the clay court surface in Madrid suits him. Taylor Fritz stated, “The bounces are still high and explosive, which is great for my forehand,” he said of the Madrid dirt. “It’s great for me to just serve and attack.”

The depth of potential in the American tennis pool was demonstrated by the recent success of Ben Shelton and Danielle Collins, two American tennis players who won clay-court titles on the same day in Houston and Charleston, respectively. There’s excitement about whether Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys can repeat such historic feats after they made notable progress in the Madrid Open.

Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on Keys’ making her way into the semis? Do let us know in the comment section below.