Wimbledon 2021: Madison Keys vs Viktorija Golubic preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (23) Madison Keys vs Viktorija Golubic
Date: 5 July 2021
Tournament: The Championships, Wimbledon
Round: Fourth round (Round of 16)
Venue: London, Great Britain
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Grass
Prize money: £17,066,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - BBC TV & Radio | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Madison Keys vs Viktorija Golubic preview
Madison Keys and Viktorija Golubic will square off in the Wimbledon fourth round on Monday. While Keys is a former quarterfinalist at the All England Club, Golubic is into the second week of a Major for the first time in her career.
Madison Keys, seeded 23rd, defeated Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-3 in her third-round match on Friday. The former US Open runner-up racked up 29 winners while committing only 19 unforced errors against Mertens.
Keys' serve and groundstrokes have been fairly consistent at SW19 this year. The American has lost her serve just thrice so far, with Mertens accounting for two of those breaks.
Keys is also yet to drop a set this week, having registered straight-sets victories over Katie Swan and Lauren Davis in her previous rounds. But the going will likely get tougher against Viktorija Golubic, who has a whopping 18 breaks of serve under her belt at Wimbledon this year (six against each opponent).
After winning a marathon three-setter against Veronika Kudermetova, Golubic swatted away Danielle Collins with ease in the second round. The Swiss then inflicted a similar beatdown upon Madison Brengle in the third round on Friday, winning 6-2, 6-1.
Golubic, ranked No. 66, comes into this fourth-round clash battle-hardened; she has won 43 matches on tour (WTA, ITF, qualifiers all combined) in 2021. The Swiss seems to be finding her best tennis now after suffering a series of early Slam exits over the last couple of years.
Madison Keys vs Viktorija Golubic head-to-head
Madison Keys and Viktorija Golubic have met twice before, with the head-to-head tied at 1-1. One of their matches was at the Fed Cup though; the only time they played each other on the WTA tour (Miami 2017), Keys won 6-1, 6-2.
Madison Keys vs Viktorija Golubic prediction
Madison Keys is the slight favorite in this fixture, given the raw power in her game combined with her wealth of top-level experience.
That said, Viktorija Golubic has the ability to nullify the American's big groundstrokes with her slice. The Swiss' returns keep dangerously low at times, which can draw out a lot of errors from her opponents.
Golubic's one-handed backhand has been working well so far, helping her create acute angles - especially while passing. But Keys will likely direct a lot of deep shots towards that wing to try and prevent her from opening up the court.
This is a difficult match to call, but Keys' experience tips the scales in her favor.
Prediction: Madison Keys to win in three sets.