Madison Keys returned from injury to reach the second round of the U.S. Open.
The 14th-seeded American beat Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-1 at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Monday, less than two months after a foot injury ruled her out of Wimbledon in 2024.
As a result, Keys will face Australia's Maya Joynt in the second round on Wednesday.
“I've spent a lot of time this summer in the gym rehabbing,” Keys said after the match, where she won five of 10 break points. “I tried to play in Toronto, but I was a little bit too quick. I wasn't ready yet. And I felt like I got a lot of positives out of that match because I was still playing well. It wasn't until the end of the second set that it started to get to me, so I didn't think I was too far off.”
“I gave myself a few more weeks to get back to 100 percent and I think that was really important. We did everything we could with the six weeks we were given.”
After qualifying for the first round in Toronto, Keys was forced to withdraw in the second round of the Canadian Open due to hip problems.
She had already been sidelined for a month recovering from a foot injury sustained at Wimbledon, and it was clear that the 29-year-old was not ready to play again.
“I think the frustrating part is you work so hard to level up your fitness, your fitness base, everything, and then something happens and all of a sudden it seems like it's all gone,” Keys said. “It's the little tiny things you have to do – little baby steps. I think that's the frustrating part. You keep thinking, 'A week ago I was fine.'
“Before, I could do everything, and now all of a sudden, I'm just taking small steps of building foundational strength, and then I can get on the court and start building endurance.”
Iva Jovic, 16, of California, became the youngest American woman to win the U.S. Open main draw since 2000. She defeated 2023 Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linett 6-4, 6-3.
“I was surprised but not surprised,” Jovic said. “I just had a plan in place before the match started of what I was going to do. Things were going well so I didn't need to make too many adjustments, so I just stuck to that plan.”
American Katrina Scott was also 16 when she won in Flushing four years ago, and Russia's Mila Andreeva was 16 when she won last year.
Dominic Thiem finally had his moment at the U.S. Open, even if it was his farewell to the historic tournament.
Thiem, who won his first and only Grand Slam title in 2020 at an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was pleased to be playing in front of a capacity crowd despite losing in three sets to American Ben Shelton on Monday.
“I just want to thank everybody,” he said after the game, “and make up for the time I missed four years ago.”
American Taylor Townsend's stellar summer continued on Monday, defeating Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-2, 7-5.
Townsend fired four aces and benefited from six double faults from Trevisan to set up a match against Spain's Paula Badosa on Wednesday.
Townsend, ranked at a career-high No. 46, is fresh off a quarterfinal appearance at the Canadian Open and a round of 16 appearance at Cincinnati, where she qualified through qualifying at both tournaments. She also won doubles titles at Wimbledon with Katerina Siniakova and at the Washington Open with Asia Muhammed.
