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| Match: Finished | 1 | 2 |
|---|---|---|
| D. Aiava (AUS) | 2 | 2 |
| M. Keys (USA) [17] | 6 | 6 |
| Completed Sets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Set won by M. Keys | 2 - 6 | M. Keys leads 0 to 2 |
| Set won by M. Keys | 2 - 6 | M. Keys leads 0 to 1 |
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Destanee Aiava will kick off her Australian Open campaign with an uphill battle as she takes on Madison Keys in the first round. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 11am (AEDT).
Part of Australia’s next generation of up and coming tennis players, Aiava, at just 18 years of age, will go into her second Australian Open ranked just inside the top 200 in the world, but up on confidence.
While the wins weren’t against major players, Aiava started her 2019 season on the right foot, getting through the qualifiers and then winning a main draw match as well as she knocked out Kristina Mladenovic in an outstanding straight sets display.
After a rough finish to 2018 on the Australian domestic scene, where she finished with three straight losses, Aiava had her baseline game going strong in Brisbane to win the four matches.
If anything, it’ll remind the 18-year-old that she is good enough to mix it with more talented players, and regardless of result, she will learn plenty in another hit out on Rod Laver Arena here.
On the other side of the net, Madison Keys is still waiting for her grand slam breakthrough.
She has been to the pointy end of plenty of tournaments now, including a pair of semi-final appearances at the 2018 French and US Open, but she still hasn’t been able to get the job done.
The American, who fell to No.17 in the world after a similarly poor end to 2018 through the Asian swing, hasn’t played a match at all so far in 2019, and that could work against her.
With only three sets to get it right, if the rust is evident early, Aiava will try to make the most of it, running Keys around the court and trying to limit the American’s power game.
However, the biggest problem for Aiava is that if Keys manages to find her power game and range on the court early, there are very few players on the WTA tour who would be able to stop her.
Aiava also has no experience in dealing with Keys, given the pair have never faced off before this meeting.
Prediction
Keys is going to be too strong for Aiava, with the only question being around her match fitness on a hot Melbourne day.
Keys in straight sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the match from 11am (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
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