Australian Open: Madison finds the key to beating nemesis Kerber

Madison Keys once treated every shot as if she must hit a winner. That’s what she will try to do against Angelique Kerber.

American Madison Keys during her fourth round match win over Caroline Garcia

Madison Keys’ approach to tennis was once appealing in its simplicity.

As former British professional Sam Smith noted in commentary during the American’s demolition of Caroline Garcia on Monday, Keys once treated every shot as if she must hit a winner.

See the ball. Club the ball. And that is what she will be trying to do with regularity against 2016 Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.

When you possess the superb timing of Keys that is often enough to win most tennis matches.

But the methodology can be exposed by players capable of producing variety in pace or spin, or those who are agile and consistent. And the 22-year-old is learning the value of tempering this approach.

It is a facet the impressive American has been working to improve with her coaching staff, which includes Lindsay Davenport, a champion in Melbourne in 2000.

As Keys noted after her defeat of Garcia, her match preparation extends to letting her coaches scout opponents and then “doing what they tell me”.

More often than not, this has led to her finding the right ball to thump, as opposed to trying to do so on every shot.

But she disputes the assertion she has not played “smart tennis” in the past, pointing to her run in New York last September.

“I just was waiting for the right ball. Then trusting that I was going to make the right decision when I finally had the opportunity to go for it,” she said.

As impressive as the American has been in Melbourne this year, the true test of her new tempered attack begins today against Kerber.

Keys has proven an almost perfect opponent for Kerber, who absorbs a rival’s power and pace and returns it with interest. The German has the athleticism to retrieve shots that would be winners against most and has regained the consistency that made her the world’s best player in 2016.

Only once from seven outings has the more powerful Florida resident managed to gain the upper-hand against Kerber, a dual-grand slam winner. That occurred on a grass court in a Wimbledon lead-in event in 2014.

But a smarter approach from Keys, who is still in the infancy of her career, could unlock the hold Kerber has over her.

“So it’s (about) not feeling rushed, (or) that I have to go for something crazy big on the first one and just really work the point,” she said.

The later quarter-final today pits world No 1 Simona Halep against Karolina Pliskova.

The talented duo are seeking to join Elise Mertens and either Caroline Wozniacki or Carla Suarez Navarro in the semi-finals played tomorrow.

Both Halep and Pliskova have shaped over the past two seasons as the women most likely to break through for a maiden grand slam title.

Halep was particularly impressive when rebounding from a marathon win over Lauren Davis to overwhelm Naomi Osaka.

Pliskova moved through to a quarter-final in the early hours yesterday when she finished over the top of compatriot Barbora Strykova.

The Czech has more power than the world No 1 and believes the quarter-final is on her racquet.

“It’s going to be about me. I have to play well to win. I do anything for that,” she said. “I have to serve well, otherwise she has I would not say dangerous game, but if I don’t play well I don’t have the chance to win against her.”

Mertens, meanwhile, continued her sensational form this summer when she dismantled the fourth seeded Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-0. The only match the Belgian, who idolised Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin as a young girl, has dropped this summer was in the Hopman Cup when she was beaten by Kerber.

She subsequently defended her Hobart International title and was too accomplished for Svitolina, an outstanding WTA Tour player who has been unable to produce similar results in grand slam events.

Mertens, who has a sound, all-court game and controlled the quarter-final with measured aggression, described the result as “one of my greater wins”.

“I’ve got nothing to lose, that’s for sure,” she said.

“I guess I’m … the underdog, as (I was) today. But I’m ready for it. I mean, I have a lot of energy left. (I’m) mentally and physically good. I’m just going to give it all and see where it ends.”