WHAT HAPPENED: Madison Keys is back in the quarterfinals in Flushing Meadows.
The 2017 US Open finalist improved her lifetime record against Dominika Cibulkova to 5-0 with a 6-1, 6-3 win in the round of 16 of the US Open on Monday.
The No. 14 seed -- the highest one remaining in the bottom half of the women's draw -- needed just 75 minutes to score her third victory inside Arthur Ashe Stadium this fortnight.
Keys struck 25 winners to just 15 unforced errors in the victory, tallied six aces, and broke Cibulkova's serve five times.
"Today I think I served really well. I think the biggest thing is just being able to, you know, kind of push her back off of the baseline where she likes to hold her ground and just be able to dictate points like that," Keys said after the match.
"I feel like today I played really well. I think I served well, other than one game. Other than that, I think I did a really good job to stay in some important games where I was down love-30 or 15-40. That's what I'm most happy about and what I have been looking at."
After holding to begin the match, Keys claimed the longest game of the match to build an early lead.
After nine deuces and nearly 10 minutes, the American broke Cibulkova's serve on her sixth chance in the game, and hardly looked back. Keys won both the first three and last three games of the set, and dropped just two points in the last three games of the opener.
Keys' momentum continued early in the second set, as she quickly built a 2-0 lead behind another early break. However, Cibulkova made a push from there, winning three straight games to take her first lead of the match.
Nonetheless, the American quelled the Slovak's effort with a love hold to level the match at 3-all, and did not surrender another game for the rest of the match. From 2-3 down, Keys won 12 straight points over the next three games en route to the win.
"It's always nice to see a bunch of Americans doing well at the home slam. I'm just really happy to be a part of it."
WHAT IT MEANS: Keys has brought her best tennis to the biggest stages this season.
Monday's victory puts the American in her third Grand Slam quarterfinal of the season. She reached the last eight at the Australian Open, and also was a semifinalist at the French Open in the spring.
Should Keys want to return to the semifinals in New York, she will need to overcome No. 30 seed Carla Suárez Navarro, who handed 2006 champion Maria Sharapova her first defeat in night-session play at the US Open.
MATCH POINT: Keys has reached the second week in four consecutive US Opens dating back to 2015. She appeared in the fourth round twice before finishing as last year's runner-up.
"It's always nice to see a bunch of Americans doing well at the home slam. I'm just really happy to be a part of it, and to have back to back years is really special," she said.
"It's kind of nice to be under the radar. Either way, I'm pretty used to it. This one just seems like it's a little bit more low key."
