Madison Keys: “I blacked out” facing match points vs. Eva Lys in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, Ohio—There wasn’t much going through the mind of Madison Keys when she stood on the brink of defeat to Eva Lys in her opening match at the Cincinnati Open.

“I think I blacked out,” Keys joked after coming back to win, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1). “I was just trying to win the point directly ahead of me.”

**Relive Madison Keys' Cincinnati Open comeback vs. Eva Lys on the Tennis Channel App!**

The Australian Open champion weathered numerous momentum shifts in her return to Queen City on Saturday, rallying from 0-3 down in the deciding set and roaring back from two match points down after serving for the match at 5-4.

I think I played well when it mattered. I think I served really well at the end, and that was huge. I felt like there was times when I wasn’t making the best decisions, but that’s life. Madison Keys

“I think it was just one of those days where neither of us played great at the same time, but we both kind of kept finding it,” Keys explained her post-match mixed zone. “I feel like sometimes that’s just a tennis match: you’re not both raising your level at the same time, and that kind of happened a little bit today.

“I also thought we both played really well at moments.”

A champion in Cincinnati back in 2019, Keys indeed saved her best tennis for last, ceding just one more point to Lys from match point down to walk through the final-set tiebreaker and secure victory in in two hours and 12 minutes on Grandstand Court.

“I think I played well when it mattered,” said Keys, who will next face qualifier Aoi Ito for a spot in the fourth round. “I think I served really well at the end, and that was huge. I felt like there was times when I wasn’t making the best decisions, but that’s life. I’m really happy to have been able to in some way figure it out and get the win.”

Keys won from match point down for the fourth time in 2025, most crucially Down Under, where she went on to dethrone defending champion Aryna Sabalenka after nearly losing to Iga Swiatek in the semis.

“I literally take it point to point to point, almost to the point where I’ll walk off sometimes like, ‘I don’t remember; did she have match points? Did that actually happen?’” Keys laughed. “But just trying to be super clear when I’m walking up to the line, especially when I’m serving, so I know what I want to do with the first ball.”

Keys has enjoyed a strong season since lifting her first Grand Slam title in Melbourne, reaching the quarterfinals of Roland Garros and the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open. Back on hard courts, the 30-year-old is in a good position to play her 14th US Open main draw among the title favorites.

The fans are very knowledgeable. They’re very big tennis fans, and I feel like it’s such a great central location for a lot of Midwesterners. Madison Keys on the Cincinnati Open

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Keys smiled. “It’s obviously a long year, started off on a really big note. But I feel like I’ve had probably some of the best wins of my career and it’s probably the most consistent that I’ve been. So, I really just feel like I’m trekking along, one tournament after another. I’m looking forward to hopefully finishing the season on as good of a note as I started.”

But first, Cincinnati, where Keys most recently made the semifinals in 2022 and home to quick courts—and savvy fans—that could kickstart her US Open swing.

“I’ve always loved this tournament and it’s always packed,” said Keys, praising the extensive renovations throughout the Lindner Family Tennis Center. “There’s never any match I’ve ever played where you look around and there’s not hundreds of people around. I think that part of that is that this tournament has been here for so long, but the fans are very knowledgeable. They’re very big tennis fans, and I feel like it’s such a great central location for a lot of Midwesterners to come.

“It’s always one of my favorite tournaments and I think the fans are a huge part of that.”