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‘Tomorrow We Are Enemies’- All-American Battle at Citi Open as Madison Keys Reveals Clear Intentions Before Facing Resurgent WTA Star

Published 08/02/2023, 8:01 AM EDT

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via Reuters

Madison Keys had a decent run in the Wimbledon Championships before Aryna Sabalenka ousted her in the quarter-finals. This was her first quarter-final in the grass-court Grand Slam after 7 years. She is now playing in the Citi Open, as the tennis community is shifting to hard court. Keys was spotted at her fiance, Bjorn Frantangelo’s match, as she cheered for him in the stands. Though he made it to the first round, he lost to Gael Monfils and saw an early exit.

But Keys got through the first round of both singles and doubles. Interestingly, her next round will witness the exit of one of the players from the doubles duo.

Madison Keys to go up against her “friend”

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After defeating Quinwen Zheng in her first round in straight sets, 5-7, 1-6, Keys will play Jennifer Brady in the next. The two played their first round of doubles together and defeated the duo of Maria Sakkari – Petra Martic, as the scorecard read, 3-6, 6-1, 2-10. After winning against Zheng, Keys expressed how she feels playing against her doubles partner, Jen Brady.

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In the post-match interview, Keys said, “It’s amazing to have Jenny back. I think she’s one of the most popular people on tour because she’s just amazing and funny and just one of the nicest people. So to be able to have her back, I got to play doubles with her yesterday, which was great.” 

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The 16th seed said that they would be enemies just for a day before going back to being friends and playing doubles. She expressed, “Tomorrow we’re enemies, so that’ll be interesting, but then we go back to being doubles partners and friends again. So, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow night.” For Brady, this is the first tournament after injuries plagued her, curbing her rise.

Jennifer Brady returns to action after almost two years

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In 2020, Brady rose from being 55th seed to 24 with her incredible US Open run. She reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time breaking through the barriers of the pandemic. The next year, she improved further and reached the finals of the Australian Open but lost to Naomi Osaka.

via Reuters

The ranking of the Slam finalist improved from 24 to 13, and she reached the Top 15, her highest ever for the first time. But she was dragged from the top as she suffered multiple injuries. Starting with a foot injury during the 2021 Miami Open, feeling back spasms at the 2021 French Open, and eventually giving in after putting up a tough fight.

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Brady underwent knee surgery in 2022, and after resting for all these months, she finally returned to the court and jumped into both singles and doubles, given her passion and love for tennis. Keys and Brady are playing against each other for the first time. Whom will you be supporting in the match tomorrow?

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Written by:

Krishna Priya

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Vadlamani Krishna Priya is a tennis writer at Essentially Sports. Pursuing her passion for storytelling, she has a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. Helped by her cousin who introduced her to the rules and regulations of the game during her childhood, Roger Federer matches became Priya's gateway to the world of tennis.
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Edited by:

Nidhi