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2019 champion Madison Keys and 2017 champion Daria Kasatkina will lock horns in a quarterfinal showdown at the Charleston Open on Friday, following victories in the Round of 16.
No.9 seed Madison Keys of the United States battled past No.8 seed Magda Linette of Poland 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 on Thursday night. Keys added to her string of victories in Charleston by winning her 20th match in her professional career there. Keys was not just the winner in 2019 but also a semifinalist in 2018 and a finalist in 2015. Keys took the first set thanks to back-to-back forehand winners, but Linette was the more resilient player in the second set. To tie the match, the Pole saved each of her three break points in the second set. Yet in the decisive game, Keys took the lead right away for 2-0 before holding on to win 3-0 despite facing a break point in a drawn-out five-deuce game. Keys maintained her composure after that and finished the game with 36 victories, triple Linette's total of 12. After a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over American Bernarda Pera earlier, No. 3 seed Kasatkina was able to quickly secure her quarterfinal position. In their first encounter, Kasatkina required one hour and 32 minutes to defeat Pera, who was ranked 38th. Pera, who claimed her first two WTA singles championships last year, recovered from falling behind by a break in the second set and saved two match points at 5-4 to force a tiebreak. But in the tiebreaker, Kasatkina won five straight games to take a dominating 5-1 lead, and she then sealed the victory. Against Kasatkina, Keys has a commanding 8-1 win-loss record. Kasatkina ultimately defeated Keys last year at Melbourne Summer Set 2 after eight tries, although Keys triumphed in their most recent meeting in San Diego at the close of the previous campaign. (ANI)
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