The current champion of the Australian Open, Madison Keys, overcame the strong heat of Melbourne to advance to the round of 16 of the Australian Open, this Friday (23), already Saturday (24) in Melbourne.
The American defeated Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-3. On a day with forecast temperatures of up to 40ºC, Keys avoided extreme wear and tear by dismantling the Czech in 75 minutes, in a match played at Rod Laver Arena.
In the next round, the ninth seed will face fellow American Jessica Pegula, who easily advanced to the round of 16 after beating Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-3, 6-2, at the Margaret Court Arena.
Keys and sixth-seeded Pegula are good friends off the tour and co-produce a tennis podcast with American players Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk.
The two said they had no problems with the weather conditions, despite temperatures remaining above 31°C well before noon.
“I was excited about the heat, being from Florida,” Keys said on court.
The tennis player also revealed that she and Pegula intend to record an episode of the podcast before the confrontation between them. The friendship, however, will be put aside when they face each other in a few days.
