Jaqueline Cristian, in the round of 16 at WTA Charleston – Important victory against a Grand Slam finalist

​Jaqueline Cristian (83 WTA) produced a surprise and qualified for the round of 16 at WTA Charleston, our athlete beating Madison Keys (8th favorite, Grand Slam finalist) after an electrifying match, score 3-6, 6-3, 6 -3.

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Jaqueline Cristian, victory with Madison Keys at WTA Charleston

Five breaks appeared in the first set, the weaknesses of the service being obvious in the case of the two athletes. The American made fewer mistakes at the end of the set, and the set came back to her 6-3.

In the second set, Jaqueline was able to overcome her serve problems. He gave up only one service game, and he made the difference on the return. It was 6-3 for Cristian, and the match would go into a decisive set.

In high spirits after winning the set, Jaqueline constantly put pressure on her much more famous opponent, and Madison (known for her serving power) made two missteps towards the end of the set.

Cristian (25 years old) was decisive in two games from the reception, and the set deservedly returned to her with 6-3. The victory of our player took shape after a great fight that lasted two hours and two minutes.

Jaqueline was better than her opponent on both serves, the percentages of points won being in her favor (66.7% vs 58.9% on the first and 48.8% vs 48.3% on the second).

The big headaches of the American just off the serve are gone, Madison being a player who depends a lot on the points collected with the help of the serve.

Keys won the 2019 Charleston tournament.

To know:

• Following her run so far in Charleston, Jaqueline Cristian has secured a prize worth $11,190 and 60 points in the WTA singles ranking.

• For a place in the quarterfinals of the American tournament, Jaqueline Cristian will have to fight the winner of the match between Emma Navarro (20 WTA – seed ten) and Katie Volynets (110 WTA).

• In WTA Live, Jaqueline Cristian is currently ranked 77th (up 6 positions). We remind you that the athlete from Romania was at the top of the world ranking at 58, in January 2022.

• Romania also had Ana Bogdan and Gabriela Lee on the main draw in Charleston, but unfortunately both left the competition in the inaugural round.

Who is Madison Keys?

The 29-year-old American peaked in the WTA rankings in March 2016, when she was ranked 7th.

He has played a Grand Slam final (US Open 2017), three semifinals (Australian Open 2015, 2022 and Roland Garros 2018) in his CV, and throughout his career he has scored 360 wins and lost 207 times.

He collected $17,366,870 in tennis prizes alone.

The Credit One Charleston Open is a tournament in the WTA 500 category that takes place between April 1-7. It is played on green clay and has a total prize pool of $922,573. The title champion is Ons Jabeur.

The main favorites from Charleston: Jessica Pegula (1), Ons Jabeur (2), Maria Sakkari (3).