Madison Keys ousts Wimbledon champ, storms into US Open semis - ESPN

NEW YORK — American Madison Keys breezed past reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday night to reach the US Open semifinals, fending off all nine break points she faced.

Keys, a 2017 US Open finalist, suffered a handful of early exits at Flushing Meadows in recent years, but has excelled in the 2023 tournament and appeared right at home in prime time under the bright lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Vondrousova, the No. 9 seed, withdrew from her doubles campaign after a three-set test from American Peyton Stearns in the fourth round left her with a sore arm, and she had little firepower left for the quarterfinal affair.

«I just love it here. I love playing here. In front of a home crowd you can never feel like you can't get out of any situation,» Keys said in her on-court interview following the match. «I knew I was going to have to keep trying to get to the net, be aggressive.»

Keys next faces No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who dispatched China's Zheng Qinwen in another lopsided performance on Ashe earlier Wednesday.

«It's going to be a lot of hard hitting, not a lot of long points,» said Keys, who lost to Sabalenka at Wimbledon in July. «Just going to try to buckle up and get as many balls back as I can.»

The other women's semifinal will be No. 6 Coco Gauff against No. 10 Karolina Muchova; they won their quarterfinals Tuesday.

Keys vs. Vondrousova was interrupted for eight minutes in the first game, when a spectator in the lower level needed medical attention. Keys brought two towels and a bottle of water over to where the fan was being helped. The U.S. Tennis Association said the episode was not heat-related.

Keys was clearly not rattled by the incident and took control once play resumed,