As the French Open enters the round of 32 phase, plenty of exciting matchups unfold. Among them, the all-American clash between Madison Keys and Emma Navarro is set to attract the masses. Keys, on the back of a 6-match win streak and a title in Strasbourg, is fancying a deep run at Roland Garros. However, bumping into Navarro in the first week is a pretty cruel draw.

Navarro has played more tournaments on clay this year, than any other pro who is still in the draw. French Open marks the seventh of her season and she seems to have adjusted well to the surface. Despite not getting any big results recently, she can surely turn this into a spicy battle.

Madison Keys vs Emma Navarro: French Open Round 3 Preview

Keys was off to a slow start in 2023. However, she managed to turn things around on clay. After an early exit in Charleston, a semi-final run in Madrid, including a win over Coco Gauff, helped her establish herself among the top WTA pros again. She followed it up with another quarter-final run in Rome and a title in Strasbourg where she completely outclassed red-hot Danielle Collins in the final. Iga Swiatek remains the only player to have beaten her on European clay this year.

Navarro, on the other hand, may not have big wins to her name of late. However, the victory over Aryna Sabalenka at Indian Wells will give her confidence for this tie. She has also been gaining form by regularly playing every week. The 23-year-old particularly likes playing in Paris and recently finished as the runner-up in the WTA 125 event here.

Madison Keys vs Emma Navarro: Head-to-head

The two Americans have only locked horns twice before and left the head-to-head even. Both meetings took place last year, one in Charleston and the other in Guadalajara.

• Guadalajara 2023 R32 (H): Navarro won 6-2, 7-6(5)
• Charleston 2023 R64 (C): Keys won 6-4, 6-3

The sample size may not be conclusive enough to study the matchup. Keys won the solitary clay court meet while Navarro came out on top on a rather slow and bouncy hard court of Guadalajara.

Prediction:

Keys enters the matchup with a much better form and showcases a higher clay court pedigree throughout the season. But, Navarro is more motivated than ever to secure the 4th American Olympics spot over Keys and will need to pull off something special today. Keys already has a lead of over 1000 points and losing today can end Navarro’s dream once and for all.

Going by statistics, Keys has been inconsistent with her serving numbers. On some of her best days, her Ace Rate climbs up over 10%. It specifically did against Navarro in Charleston. At the same time, she witnesses unexpected lows on poor serving days. Meanwhile, for Navarro, serve is not the most reliable weapon. In fact, she registered zero aces against Keys in their two matches.

The outcome will depend upon how Navarro defends against Keys’ ultra-aggressive groundstrokes. Emma has the ability to create tricky cross-court angles which could put Keys in an uncomfortable position. However, the current version of Madison fears no defense and will prove to be too good for Navarro.

Final Verdict: Madison Keys to win in straight sets and deliver a serving masterclass. While Navarro might struggle to register a single ace and fall short in less than 20 games.