Petra Kvitova beat Madison Keys 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 on Court 1 in the bronze medal match on Saturday. The Czech lefty closed out her brilliant week at the Rio Olympic Games in style.
Kvitova stays steady to pull out first set, faced just one break point
Kvitova and Keys had played on four preview occasions before their expected meeting in the bronze medal match at the Rio Olympic Games on Saturday. The Czech-American pair were even at two wins apiece, but the tie would eventually be broken after their anticipated hard-hitting encounter in Rio. Keys opened up the match on her serve and quickly faced a break point. However, she held her early nerves to hold before Kvitova leveled the set to 1-1 after a hold to deuce.
An on-serve pattern soon developed with the next break-point opportunity taking place three games later, but neither play was able to take their chances. At 2-2, Keys served for the third time and went down a quick 0-30. The American was able to fight back to stay on serve before the Czech wasted zero time to hold right back for a level scoreboard.
Keys had been having a week to remember as her serve and ground strokes had benefitted her in the crucial moments thus far in the Games. They exchanged holds yet again before things got interesting when the American youngster found herself serving at five games apiece. She had recently cracked the top-10 and her tennis has definitely backed up her rise up the rankings, but in spite of her momentum, Kvitova was able to find a way to sneak her way through and break the 21-year-old. The Czech lefty earned the opportunity to serve for the match with a 6-5 edge. One set point is all the two-time Wimbledon champion needed to cap off a brilliant opening set with a 7-5 score line in nearly 50 minutes.
Keys fights back, forces third set
The American started the second set off on the right foot with a solid hold to get second-set action underway. Kvitova soon leveled the set before Keys inched ahead yet again in style. The on-serve trend was maintained until the set's sixth game when the Czech squandered a 40-15 lead to eventually lose the game and give up an untimely break. The American held all the momentum after taking the 4-2 lead and needed to continue to be aggressively consistent in order to force a third and final set.
Keys had no problem holding to bring her advantage to five games to two as she was in complete control of the second set. The world number nine put herself within a game of a deciding set where she could possibly be a set away from a beloved bronze medal. Keys did just that with a clutch, stylish break to love to complete a brilliant fightback set in 37 solid minutes.
Czech closes out three-set win, earns spot on podium
After a disappointing second set, the lefty from the Czech Republic was the one to get out to an early start in at number three. Kvitova stepped up to serve to back up her early break, but she was soon in danger of giving the break right back. However, Kvitova held to deuce before putting herself in a position to go up a double break.
On her second break-point chance of the game, the Czech took a 3-0 lead in the final set, leaving Keys three games behind. The match suddenly laid in Kvitova's hands as she only needed to hold serve for the remainder of the set to oust her American counterpart.
A hold to 30 from the lefty later saw Kvitova gain complete control of the scoreboard as she was 4-0 ahead in the third set. In spite of having chances to go up 5-0, she was unable to break Keys for a triple-break advantage, but she then held for a 5-1 lead which out her extremely close to the finish line. Keys was able to hold her serve to put the pressure on the Czech to serve out the bronze-medal match.
On Kvitova's fourth bronze-medal point, she clinched the third spot on the podium and turned her disappointing season around. The world number 14 needed two hours and 11 minutes to pass Keys, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.
