Madison Keys and Mariana Duque-Mariño both came into the match off the back of an impressive run of form. Keys reached the final of the tournament in Rome, where she eventually lost to the world number one, Serena Williams. In Nürnberg, Duque-Mariño lost in the final to Kiki Bertens.
Before their match today Keys and Duque-Mariño had never played against each other, this meant the winner today would be able to get a mental advantage over their opponent. After just over an hour it was Keys who picked up the victory as she defeated Duque-Mariño 6-3,6-2, to progress into the third round of Roland Garros.
Failure to take chances costs Duque-Marino
Keys got the match underway with an impressive hold of serve. The young American quickly raced through her opening service game without dropping a single point. Keys's start to the match got even better as she broke Duque-Marino in the second break. Duque-Mariño could do nothing to prevent Keys from capitalizing on her first break point opportunity and put herself in a strong position right at the start of the match.
The American's lead did not last long as Duque-Mariño broke straight back in the very next game. Keys found herself 40-15 behind in the game and despite saving one of Duque-Mariño's break point chances, she could do nothing to stop her Columbian opponent from taking her second chance and putting the set back on serve.
After back-to-back breaks of serve, normality resumed as both players held their service games with relative ease. This was until the sixth game of the set, where Keys put Duque-Mariño's service under pressure. With some big hitting, the American worked herself three separate chances to break Duque-Mariño, all of which Duque-Mariño managed to fight off before going on to hold her service.
Duque-Mariño then had her own chance to put herself ahead for the first time in the set, however, like Keys in the previous game, the Columbian could not capitalize on her break point chances. Unfortunately for Duque-Mariño, her failure to take her opportunities and put herself ahead in the match was punished by Keys in the eighth game.
Keys eventually got her breakthrough in the eighth game, after a tough battle throughout with Duque-Mariño. The young American worked herself into a position to break Duque-Mariño and after some impressive tennis, she broke and put herself ahead in the set once again.
With the break in the previous game, Keys had given herself a chance to serve for the set. The 21-year-old kept her composure as she confidently held her serve to take the game and set at the first time of asking.
Keys breaks twice to take the match
After losing the first set, Duque-Mariño would have been wanting to start the second set off strongly. The Columbian did just that as she won her opening service game with ease. Keys then stepped up to the service line and despite some pressure from Duque-Mariño, the American won the game.
Duque-Mariño quickly found herself a set and a break behind, when Keys broke her in the third game. Keys showed signs of why she is being tipped as America's next big star as she overpowered Duque-Marino to take the game with her second break point opportunity. The American then consolidated the break with another strong hold of service, which gave her a 3-1 lead in the set.
All the pressure was on Duque-Mariño to win her service games and keep herself within touching distance of her opponent. The pressure nearly got to the Columbian in the fifth game, which gave Keys two opportunities to break once again. However, Duque-Mariño dug deep to fight off the two break points and win the game.
Keys continued her impressive service display, with another strong hold of service. The American raced through her service game to put Duque-Marino under pressure again. Duque-Mariño tried her hardest to hold her service game, but unfortunately for the Columbian, Keys was too strong. After some good play from Keys and a couple of errors from Duque-Mariño, Keys had a break point opportunity. This time around Duque-Mariño could not prevent Keys from breaking her once again.
With a 5-2 lead, Keys was serving for the set and the match. The young American did not faulter as she served the game out to love. After just over an hour, Keys had defeated Duque-Mariño in straight sets. The American now progresses into the third round where she will face Monica Puig.
