tennis | Friday, September 2, 2022 9:01 AM (Revised at: Friday, September 2, 2022 9:02 AM)

Friday Tennis Best Bet: US Open Women, Coco Gauff vs Madison Keys

Jon Reid

Coco Gauff vs Madison Keys Best Bet: Friday, September 2nd

Well it’s been a disastrous first week to the year’s final grand slam event, there’s just no way around it. Linda Fruhvirtova looked to have recovered from a 0-6 first set, but crumbled from 4-1 up with 0-40 for three chances at the double break lead in the second.

Onto Friday, where we’ll take a look at the matchup featuring Madison Keys and Coco Gauff.

In this article:

Coco Gauff vs Madison Keys Preview
Coco Gauff vs Madison Key Best Bet

Coco Gauff vs Madison Keys Preview

September 2nd, 19:00 UK Time

It should be a fun Friday afternoon for the American crowd, as two of their home favourites – and certainly contenders for the title – will square off for a place in the final 16 and second week of the U.S. Open.

While Gauff is the favourite here, I believe it is Keys that is more likely to emerge victorious. While I can’t fault bookmakers for making the higher-ranked and more consistently successful Gauff the favourite, the matchup may be a tough one for the teenager and on these particular courts, Keys will fancy her prospects.

For starters, we know Keys enjoys quicker courts. The deep run at the Australian Open, the deep run a few weeks ago in Cincinnati, and then of course, the run to the final in New York in 2017. Put quite simply, her massive serve and forehand are a nightmare to return on faster courts and with her primary weakness being her unforced error count, quicker courts lead to shorter points. Shorter points mean fewer shots that you have to land in.

In terms of the matchup, Gauff’s returning prowess may be a cause for concern for Keys on other surfaces, but on quicker surfaces, even the young gun should have problems applying pressure consistently in Keys’ service games. The forehand wing is also a huge disadvantage for Gauff, as when taking on power players, it can be rushed and become very erratic. Finally, the second serve is also a liability. Gauff is prone to double faults on any given day, and with the way Keys will surely look to attack it, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a higher volume of double faults than normal. Even without the free points, Keys should find success racking up points against those second serves.

Coco Gauff vs Madison Keys Best Bet

As I alluded to earlier, one can’t fault bookmakers for making Gauff a favourite. Considering this match on these courts, however, I am certainly staking out a position backing the underdog.