US Open 2022: Coco Gauff vs Madison Keys preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (12) Coco Gauff vs (20) Madison Keys.
Date: September 2, 2022.
Tournament: US Open 2022.
Round: Third round (Round of 32).
Venue: New York, United States.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $60,102,000.
Live telecast: USA - ESPN & ESPN2 | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sony Liv, Sony Ten & Sony Six.
Coco Gauff vs Madison Keys preview
Compatriots Coco Gauff and Madison Keys are set for a third-round showdown at the 2022 US Open on Friday.
After a straightforward win over Leolia Jeanjean in the first round, Gauff was up against Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the Round of 64. The two played out a rollercoaster match at Wimbledon just a few weeks ago, with the teenager coming out on top. This time, however, there weren't too many twists in the tale.
Gauff was the one to strike first as she snagged a break in the fourth game of the opening set. She saved a couple of break points in the following game to build up to a 4-1 lead. After another couple of service holds, the American broke her opponent's serve yet again to claim the set.
Ruse started the second set on a strong note, securing a break of serve to go 2-1 up. Gauff, however, broke back immediately to level the score. The Romanian managed to get another service break and then stepped up to serve for the set at 5-4.
Ruse even held a couple of set points, but Gauff held her nerves and managed to break her opponent's serve. The set went into a tie-break, in which the 18-year old displayed her dominance to win the match 6-2, 7-6(4).
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Madison Keys, meanwhile, kicked off her US Open campaign with a straight-sets win over Dayana Yastremska to set up a second-round clash against Camila Giorgi. The American broke her opponent's serve twice as she jumped to a 4-1 lead in the first set against the Italian.
Giorgi managed to retrieve one of the breaks, but it wasn't enough to stop Keys from taking the opener. The Italian led 3-0 in the second set, but the 2017 US Open finalist managed to get back on serve. The American served to stay in the set at 5-4 and saved a couple of set points as well.
Keys once again served to stay in the set and enforce a tie-break at 6-5. She faced multiple set points yet again, but this time Giorgi managed to clinch the set. The Italian was up 5-2 in the deciding set and even served for the match later on, but got broken.
With the match to be decided by the final set tie-break, Keys built up an early lead and maintained it until the end to seal off the contest 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(6).
Coco Gauff vs Madison Keys head-to-head
Keys leads Gauff 1-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2022 Adelaide International in three sets.
Coco Gauff vs Madison Keys odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Coco Gauff vs Madison Keys prediction
Gauff will be aiming to advance to the fourth round of the US Open for the first time. She has looked quite solid in both of her matches so far. Against Ruse in the second round, she remained calm under pressure and saved set points en route to winning the match. However, the teenager's serve was a little shaky as she threw in eight double faults.
Keys, a former finalist in New York, had to stage an escape act against Giorgi in the second round. She was slapping winners left and right, coming up with 30 of them in all. However, her unforced error count was high too, accumulating 38 in total.
Keys is the more aggressive player between the two and will look to dictate the proceedings with her powerful groundstrokes. Gauff's atheleticism and defense is remarkable, and she too is capable of going on the offensive when required. It should be a closely fought battle, but the teenager's consistency gives her a slight edge in this contest.
Pick: Coco Gauff to win in three sets.