INTERVIEW: [9] Madison Keys lost to [10] Belinda Bencic 4-6 4-6 – 3rd ROUND

ROUND OF 16: M. Keys LOST TO B. Bencic – 4-6 4-6

Question: Madison, interesting match with the rain delay. Can you just talk us through it a little bit?

MADISON KEYS: Yeah. Tough match today. I think I actually played pretty good tennis, up until being up a break in the second. The first set I think was a few points here or there. I think I played really well to get up 4-2 in the second, and then I think I got a little tight and made a couple of bad errors on some important points; and, unfortunately, when you’re playing someone as good as Belinda, it’s a couple of points here or there.

Question: You seemed to really come out on fire after the delay. What did you do during the delay that helped you out and got you refocused?

KEYS: I was just trying to stay calm, wait the rain out and just try to learn from the first set, figure out what I was doing well, what I wasn’t doing well. I think I played pretty good games to get up in the second; and, yeah, just have to focus on those and try to get those points and those games to be the usual.

Question: Did she change anything midway through that second that allowed her to come back or was it more you just getting tight, like you said?

KEYS: I think she played a pretty high level the entire time. I think she maybe made a couple of mistakes here or there to get down a break, but personally, I feel like I kind of gave her a bunch of free points at the end.

Question: And I think sometimes it’s hard to tell just how difficult it is to play against Belinda. When you’re on court, what are the things she does that frustrates you? And, also, then just for you, the first clay court event of the season. What are some of the positives that you felt out there on court?

KEYS: Obviously, just watching Belinda, you see that she takes the ball really early, and she has a really kind of tricky ability. You can’t really tell if she’s going to go down the line or cross court with how she lines up to the ball. So it’s hard to tell. But she’s also a really good competitor, and I think when she starts winning matches she feels more and more comfortable and confident and just continues that.

For me, I think there are some positives to this tournament, obviously. I had a really good first match, and even today played some good tennis. And like I said, it’s a couple of points here or there, and the clay season is very long, so I guess it’s going to be a slow burn this year instead of coming out of the gates right away.

Question: We all know how much you love coming to Charleston and playing in this tournament. Is it more disappointing when you come up short in a tournament like this or do you just let it roll off your back?

KEYS: Obviously it’s disappointing to lose at home and in front of a crowd that was obviously very supportive of me. And I always want to make everyone here proud and happy, and obviously today I had really great crowd support. So that was amazing. But, yeah, disappointing to come off with a loss.

Question: I don’t know if you are planning to stay this weekend or if you want to commit to those plans, but how special do you think it is to celebrate 50 years, and they’ve got Rosie Casals coming in and Mary Pierce and Arantxa. I think that you know what a unique place this is, but what do you think of them coming back and the celebration overall?

KEYS: I think 50 years is amazing, and there’s so few all-women tournaments in the United States anymore. So to have a tournament that is so dedicated to continuing to put on a fantastic tournament for the women means a lot, and I think that’s why you have so many former champions coming back to celebrate.