Simona Halep demonstrated brisk sharpness in completing her second round match, while Madison Keys upended Angelique Kerber in rain-delayed matches in Cincinnati on Thursday.
The world No. 1 needed to win just six points to secure her 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Ajla Tomljanovic; Kerber played well at the start but Keys came on late to win 2-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Keys finally harnessed her exceptional power, overcoming the German’s counterpunching ability and breaking the fourth seeded Wimbledon champion at 4-4 in the final set to edge in front. The American fell behind by a double break in the first set, then trailed a set and a break before finding her form.
“I just thought I had to keep my cool, and knew that she was going to get a lot of balls back,” Keys said on-court. “I used my forehand and my serve well. … I’m really happy and just looking to build on today.”
It marked a reversal from the head-to-head series between the two: Kerber had won seven of eight matches and all 12 sets on hard courts — marking six straight sets wins. But Keys fired nine aces and far more winners, hitting the German off the court in the final games.
The No. 13 seed made her move from 15-30 at 4-4, demolishing a pair of second serves with frozen rope forehands that Kerber could not touch. She then secured her victory, fittingly, with an easy forehand on her first match point.
The American had also come from behind in the middle set tiebreak, slamming big forehands and bigger serves as Kerber lost control of her own groundstrokes. In the final set, neither player had even gotten to deuce in a return game before Keys broke.
Halep, meanwhile, returned to the court with Tomljanovic serving at 15-30 in the 3-4 game. Halep hit a superb passing shot on the second point to set up a break point, then won a lengthy rally to secure the break.
The Romanian, who had trailed 3-0 in the final set before launching a comeback on Wednesday night, served out the match quickly. She hit a service winner on match point, winning six of the eight points played after the overnight delay.
It closed a match in which she double faulted nine times and put only 51 percent of first serves in play, but converted seven break points. She is slated to return to the court later Thursday to play Ashleigh Barty, though more poor weather was forecasted.
