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Match Details
Fixture: (13) Madison Keys vs (WC) Venus Williams
Tournament: Canadian Open 2023
Round: First round (Round of 64)
Venue: Montreal, Canada
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $2,788,468
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - Sportsnet, TVA Sports | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Madison Keys vs Venus Williams preview
Madison Keys and Venus Williams are set for an all-American showdown in the first round of the 2023 Canadian Open.
Keys had a pretty good time Down Under, winning the United Cup with her compatriots and reaching the third round of the Australian Open. Out of her next four events, she made it to the quarterfinal stage just once, at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
A quarterfinal finish at the Charleston Open was Keys' best finish during the clay swing. She performed a lot better on grass, winning the Eastbourne International and making the last eight at Wimbledon. The 28-year-old then competed in the Citi Open, where she lost to Maria Sakkari in the last eight.
Williams, on the other hand, won her first match of the season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. She defeated Katie Volynets in her opener, but lost to Zhu Lin after that. The American legend also sustained an injury during her loss, which sidelined her until June.
Williams returned to action at the Libema Open, but was eliminated in the first round by Celine Naef. She notched up her second win of the year at the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham. The former World No. 1 defeated Camila Giorgi in the first round before falling to Jelena Ostapenko in the next round.
Williams' time at Wimbledon was also rather brief. She was drawn against Elina Svitolina in the first round and lost to her in straight sets.
Madison Keys vs Venus Williams head-to-head
Keys leads Williams 3-2 in the head-to-head. The former won their previous encounter at the 2019 Western & Southern Open in straight sets.
Madison Keys vs Venus Williams odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Madison Keys vs Venus Williams prediction
Williams is still going strong at the age of 43. While she has competed well at times this year, her body has often let her down. The American's serve has been working quite well and her ballstriking is still sublime, but in patches.
Williams is a step slower at this point, something which her opponents are aware of as well. They do try to extend the rallies in order to slow her down, but that works against them too at times.
Keys, meanwhile, has been in pretty decent form for most of the season. She has made it to the quarterfinal stage at the very least in her last three tournaments. The big-serving American's hard-hitting game overwhelms her opponents although she's prone to committing too many errors on a bad day.
However, given how Keys has played of late, she should be able to deal with Williams quite easily.
Pick: Madison Keys to win in straight sets.
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