Madison Keys beats Rybakina in Cincinnati to set up semi-final

• American Madison Keys cleared past Wimbledon champion.
• Elena Rybakina 6-2 6-4 at the Cincinnati Open on Friday.
• Setting up a semi-final conflict with Petra Kvitova. 

Madison Keys and Rybakina had arrived at the last eight without dropping a set and it would be the American keeping the unsullied record.

Having dispatched world number one Iga Swiatek in the third round, the 27-year-old Keys conveyed that force into the quarter-finals with a ruling success over 25th-positioned Rybakina.

“I knew she is a remarkable player and she can turn it around at any moment so I knew I had to try to stay out in front because at any moment she can go on a roll,” said Keys, finalist at the 2017 U.S. Open.

“I think that is kind of the key against her. If you back off at all then she gets to dictate and run you around.”

One of the WTA Tour’s huge hitters, positioning number two on the season pro rundown, Rybakina battled with her serve the whole match, hitting only one expert while stacking up four twofold blames.

In the principal challenge on a moist Center Court, Keys, Cincinnati champion in 2019, got out to a flying beginning breaking Rybakina two times while heading to a 4-0 lead before the Kazakhstan player was at long last ready to hold serve.

In the wake of giving up the opener Rybakina revitalized in the second with an early break to leap out in front 2-0.

However, Keys dove in, clearing the following five games to retake control 5-2 and after a late wobble finished off the challenge on her fourth match moment that Rybakina hit her return into the net.

Afterward, two times Wimbledon champion Kvitova arrived at the last four in Cincinnati for the third time in her profession with a systematic 6-2 6-3 triumph over Tomljanovic.

The other semi-final will see the last seed number six Aryna Sabalenka take on French qualifier Caroline Garcia, who proceeded with her steamed go through the draw with 6-1 7-5 win over seventh cultivated American Jessica Pegula.

Belarusian Sabalenka, who completed last season as the world’s number two positioned player, progressed with a 6-4 7-6(1) choice over China’s Zhang Shuai.

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