Young American Madison Keys knocked off No. 4 Petra Kvitova in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, to punch her ticket to the fourth round. With the win, Keys becomes the fourth American moving on to that stage – the most to do so at the Australian Open since 2003.
Keys, 19, showed off her strength in the match, catching Kvitova on her heels on one shot after the next. She got the all-important break in the 11th game, setting her up to serve out the win.
"I think my hands are still shaking. I'm really happy that I served that game out so well," she said in her on-court interview. "Right now I can't even process anything. I'm just so excited." The interviewer asked her to say more, but she couldn't find the words.
This trumps her personal best in a Grand Slam event – she had twice advanced to the third round in Melbourne and once at Wimbledon. This is her third full year on the tour; she made her U.S. Open debut in 2011 and played in Australia in 2012 before missing the rest of the 2012 slams.
Keys will face another young American, who happens to share the same first name, in the next round.
Madison Brengle advanced earlier in the day with a straight-set win over fellow American CoCo Vandweghe, 6-3, 6-2.
Keys won their only previous meeting, a 2012 U.S. Open qualifying-round match, 6-3, 6-2.
The Madisons join the Williams sisters as the final American women remaining in the women's singles draw in Melbourne. The last time there were this many Americans in the round of 16 was 2003, when Venus, Serena, Lindsay Davenport, Chanda Rubin, and Meghann Shaughnessy advanced.
On the men's side, Americans Steve Johnson and No. 19 John Isner saw their tournaments end on Day 6. Gilles Muller defeated Isner, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4. Isner served 30 aces, but failed to convert the lone break-point opportunity that he created.
Kei Nishikori sent Johnson home as the 2014 U.S. Open finalist prevailed in four sets, 6-7, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.
This is the fourth straight year that the American men collectively failed to reach the fourth round in Melbourne.
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