Playing mostly error-free tennis, Caroline Wozniacki ousts Madison Keys to reach U.S. Open quarters

NEW YORK—Caroline Wozniacki may be ranked No. 74, but no one is foolish enough to think that the former world No. 1 deserves to be there. And on Sunday afternoon at the U.S. Open, the Dane rekindled memories of her peak years, defeating No. 8 seed Madison Keys 6-3, 6-4 to advance to her fifth U.S. Open quarterfinal.

Though both women have been on tour for years, this was their first meeting. It didn’t take long to see that this was a contest of contrasts. The 26-year-old Wozniacki has fallen outside the Top 50 for the first time in almost a decade, and she’s looking to right a sinking ship. Keys, at just 21, is still enjoying an unmarred rise, having cracked the Top 10 for the first time this year.

Despite it all, the first set went quickly in Wozniacki’s favor. The Dane stayed patient, weathering Keys’ strong serve and watching the American hit 15 unforced errors to just 16 winners.

On her good days, Keys has a stronger serve than just about anyone on tour—excluding, perhaps, Serena Williams. Yet she struggled with it when she needed it the most on Sunday, just 58 percent of her first-serve points in the first set. Contrast that with Wozniacki’s whopping 93 percent conversion rate, and it’s easy to see how she wrapped up the set 6-3.

Keys also looked a step slower than usual, in large part because she’s spent more time on court than Wozniacki has. Two of her first three matches in Queens went the distance, while Wozniacki has cruised since a tough first-round win over Taylor Townsend. Wozniacki countered the Keys' lag with plenty of pep in her step. Finally healthy enough to compete at her usual high level, Wozniacki’s playing with nothing to lose. Before this week, she hadn’t won a Grand Slam match all year, and in a week in Flushing Meadows she’s reeled off four in a row.

“It has been such a tough year,” the two-time U.S. Open finalist said. “To be here in the quarterfinals is amazing."

Keys lives and dies by ripping huge forehand winners and getting easy points off her serve, but those aspects of her game were mostly ineffective today. Wozniacki’s consistency, meanwhile, was unparalleled; she committing a mere seven unforced errors the entire match.

Keys served to start the second set, and proceeded to dump more unforced errors, handing over the early break meekly. The match began to quickly get away from her, with Wozniacki racing ahead 5-3.

But one thing Keys has proved this week is you can never count her out. Finally holding serve with ease, she got within a game of evening the set at 4-5.

“I know in the first match she came back after being down, and the last match she was down 5-1 and won,” Wozniacki said. “I knew she wasn’t going to give up, and I knew she was going to go for some big shots.”

The match ended fittingly, with Wozniacki serving it out confidently. Normally, that’s a trait of Keys, but Wozniacki looked like the Top 10 player today.

“I can’t believe I’m here in the quarterfinals,” Wozniacki said. “Yeah, I was pretty nervous in the last game. I was just like, ‘Please serve. Hold out for me. Get some first serves in.’ And I did.”

Next up for the unseeded Dane is 48th-ranked Anastasija Sevatsova, whose Cinderella run continued on Sunday with a straight-sets win over Johanna Konta. Wozniacki has played her just once, beating her in the fourth round of the 2011 Australian Open, 6-3, 6-4.

“For sure it’s going to be a tough one,” Wozniacki said. “I’ve had [a] tough match against her in the past. She retired a couple years ago and came back last year… It’s going to be a good one, and I’m just excited to have another match.”