Madison Keys is still alive at the US Open — and she might be doing it with a little help from her fiancè and fellow tennis player, Bjorn Fratangelo.
The No. 17 seed American upset No. 15 seed Liudmila Samsonova on Saturday, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, in a nail-biter to move on to the Round of 16 in Flushing.
“It was exactly as I expected it was going to go today,” Keys said after the match. “She can play very high level, and it was just kind of trying to weather the storm and seeing if I had an opportunity. Then when I did have the opportunity, being able to take that. Obviously, I’m very happy being able to get back into that match and play on my terms.”
After her second-round win over Yanina Wickmayer, Keys credited Fratangelo, whom she became engaged to in March, with helping her stay focused on the court.
“Everything’s been really good,” Keys said. “He’s keeping a tally of his wins and losses. Jesse Pegula’s coach, David Witt, keeps calling him coach of the year and that he’s coming for his titles. So, so far so good.”
Keys’ strong U.S. Open showing comes two months after her strong effort at Wimbledon, where she fell in the quarterfinals to World No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka.
“He’s obviously been very beneficial. We’ve had a really great few weeks,” Keys said after her Wimbledon elimination in July, according to Tennis Infinity.
“Here, I mean, he’s really just kind of helped me enjoy being on the tennis court. There’s been just some, I mean, a few things here and there.
“Overall just really time on court, just kind of trying to get me to relax and take a little bit of pressure off of myself,” she continued. “I think when you have one of your biggest supporters standing there, especially after the French Open, a tough time for me, just kind of having that constant support I think was the biggest difference.”
In 2021, the couple even competed as a mixed doubles pair at the U.S. Open but fell in their first match.
Keys will play the No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula on Monday.