Victoria Azarenka had just enough after two and a half hours to secure a first round win in Cincinnati, while Madison Keys struggled through her first post-Wimbledon tour match with a three-set win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Azarenka, the 2013 champion, defeated Carla Suárez Navarro 6-7, 6-2, 6-4. She rebounded after losing a lead early in the third set, playing a superb final five minutes to win the last two games. She did so with her traditional power tennis, slamming 10 aces across the match and winning two-thirds of points on her serve.
She appeared to turn the match firmly in her favor after failing to convert break points at 1-2 in the second set. She then rolled off four consecutive games, converting her only two break points, to win the set. The Spaniard appeared hampered by a leg or hip problem, and received a medical timeout after the set for right hip treatment.
A sublime backhand on break point at 0-1 in the third set gave Azarenka a third straight Suárez Navarro service game and helped her build a 3-0 lead in the decider. But the world No. 25 broke back and forced break points at 4-4.
The two-time Australian Open champion swatted them aside, then smashed groundstrokes to all corners in the next game, finishing a forehand with aplomb to convert her first match point. That was far better execution than in the opening set, where Azarenka lost several leads and then the set to a well-hit Suárez Navarro forehand.
Keys, meanwhile, stormed back from a set and break down to push past Mattek-Sands 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. The US Open runner-up flipped the match at 1-3 in the second set, when she staved off a potentially fatal second break. The No. 13 seed quickly broke back, then displayed her most accurate power yet in the tiebreak to force the decider.
That power — punctuated by an ace just inside the line to set up set point — continued in the final frame. She slammed 13 aces and won nearly three quarters of first serve points across the match; in the decider, she secured the lone break she needed, then closed out the victory on her serve after missing match points on Mattek-Sands’ racket.
