French Open 2024: Madison Keys vs Mayar Sherif; Preview, Head-to-Head, and Prediction

America’s Madison Keys takes on Egypt’s Mayar Sherif in the second round of the 2024 French Open on Thursday (May 30). Both the players have been in good touch in recent times. Keys entered this mega tournament in Paris after her recent title triumph at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. She defeated the in-form Danielle Collins in the finals of the Strasbourg event. Sherif reached the finals of the Morocco Open just before taking her flight to the French capital. So, this is going to be an intriguing clash between two in-form players.

Apart from winning the title in Strasbourg, Madison Keys has also reached one SF and one QF in her previous tournaments this year. On the other hand, Mayar Sherif has also reached two finals in her previous tournament before her heroics in Rabat. But who has the edge in the R2 clash in Paris?

Madison Keys vs Mayar Sherif: Preview

Madison Keys defeated Italy’s Renata Zarazua by a 6-3,6-2 scoreline in the first round. She hit two aces and committed four double faults in the entire match. Her first serve win percentage was 65%, while on the second serve, it was around 36%. Keys converted seven of his nine breakpoints in that match. She has been in stellar form over the last few months of this season.

The 29-year-old American tennis star has hit 61 aces and committed 44 double faults in total. She has won 72.4% of her service games and 37.1% of her return games so far this season. How are her numbers compared to the Egyptian tennis star?

Well, Mayar Sherif has had a mix of good and bad runs this season. She defeated China’s Yue Yuan comfortably by a 6-1,6-3 margin in her previous match. However, she failed to hit a single ace in the entire match and didn’t commit any double faults either. Her first-serve win percentage was 64% and her second-serve win percentage was 55% against the Chinese. Sherif successfully converted just five of her eleven breakpoints in that match.

If we look at her overall numbers from this season, the 28-year-old Egyptian tennis player has hit eleven aces so far this season and has committed nineteen double faults. She has won 63.7 of her service games and 36% of her return games this year. Are these numbers enough to put her ahead of Madison Keys in this R2 clash?

Keys vs Sherif: Head-to-Head

Certainly not! But we don’t have much to determine from their H2H stats either. This will be their first meeting in their careers. So, fans can expect the unexpected from this rivalry in their first meeting. But Madison Keys is currently ranked 12 in the world, whereas Mayar Sherif is ranked 53. So, this might give the American an edge over the Egyptian. But is it the only determining factor to predict the winner of this match? No! Here’s something else that we need to look at too.

Prediction: Keys to win in four sets

Madison Keys has won her last five matches and she has previously reached the SF of the French Open in 2018. Whereas, Mayar Sherif has never progressed beyond the second round in this tournament. Keys comes up with a vast experience of playing on the bigger stages of the game while Sherif is comparatively a less experienced player. Madison Keys has a win-loss record of 14-5 this season and Mayar Sherif could only manage to record 8-8 so far this season.

Sherif prefers playing on the clay than any other surface but she has a lot to improve to stand a chance against the former world number 7. Madison Keys, on the other hand, is an aggressive baseliner who has big serves and powerful groundstrokes on both the forehand and backhand sides in her armory. Her biggest weakness is her inability to control her power at times. Slow surfaces of clay courts aren’t among her favorite surfaces due to her power-hitting play style. But looking at her overall form and experience, she looks to be clearly ahead of this Egyptian in this match.