Sixth seed Madison Keys reached her first WTA semifinal at the HP Open in Osaka on Friday by defeating Zheng Jie 6-3 6-1 in just one hour and seven minutes. The American recorded a break in the opening game and never looked back on her way to winning the first set. Then she took a 4-0 lead in the second set, wrapping up the match three games later on her second match point. Keys’ next opponent will be the 2009 HP Open champion and seed No.3 Samantha Stosur, who beat Japan’s Misaki Doi 6-1 3-6 6-3. Stosur and Keys have already faced each other once this year, when the American lost in the second round of Indian Wells 6-3 6-4.
The other semifinal will feature seed No.5 Eugenie Bouchard, who defeated Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 2-6 6-4 6-1, and another maiden WTA semifinalist, wildcard Kurumi Nara, who edged Polona Hercog 7-6(4) 2-6 6-1. This will be the first career meeting between Bouchard and the Japanese hope. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)
