Madison Keys

It’s Groundhog day again at the Wild Card Playoffs. Madison Keys won her third straight Playoff event 7-5, 6-3 over Mallory Burdette to once again head to Melbourne as a shoo-in.

The match featured opportunities for both players to win, but it was Keys who pulled away at just the right moments in each set to advance in straights.

Keys and Burdette

“I kind of like these courts! I think I played pretty well on these courts!” she stated, mostly seriously and in good spirits.

On the slow start for both players:

Keys: “I was really kind of anxious and nervous, but when I calmed down and relaxed a little bit, my serve worked better and it got me going into the rhythm.”

On questionable calls today:

Keys: “I lost it a little bit on one of them. You want the point really badly. I think I just had to let it go and move on.”

Keys departs for the Southern hemisphere on December 23. She’ll travel in a posse with Grace Min, Maria Sanchez, Shelby Rogers and Lauren Davis. They’ll land on Christmas Day. This isn’t the first time she’s missed Christmas at home, having played Winter Nationals on a couple of occasions.

Former Stanford All-American and two-time NCAA Doubles Champion Mallory Burdette’s pro career continues to shine, but today, she wished she had Nicole Gibbs out there with her.

To reach the final, Keys beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Alexa Glatch.

In addition to the hardware and the wild card, Keys will earn at least $20,800 just for showing up in Melbourne.

–S. Fogleman