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AEGON CLASSIC

June 18, 2016

Madison Keys

Birmingham, England

M. KEYS/C. SuÃ¡rez Navarro

3-6, 6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions or Madison Keys, please.

Q. Which sounds better, Aegon finalist or top 10?
MADISON KEYS: I'll take either. I'm not picky (smiling).

Q. Do you want a coin to flip?
MADISON KEYS: Yeah, you can just toss a coin and decide.

Q. That was a tough fight for you today. You really had to dig deep. What was the turning point for you, do you think?
MADISON KEYS: The first set was definitely a slow start for me. I felt like my energy was really low and not very positive.

So it was a big thing for me just to come out and really be a lot more positive and have a high level of intensity and energy. If I was able to do that, and she beat me anyways, then too good from her.

I would have been really disappointed in myself had I not been able to kind of at least change what I could on my side of the net.

Q. Did you sense that there might have been a sort of an energy dip from her? She had a monster day the day before. You pretty much sailed through in comparison.
MADISON KEYS: Did I?

Q. In terms of the schedule, you've had a far easier run than pretty much anybody else. She didn't look as fatigued as she might have been, but do you think it caught up with her towards the end?
MADISON KEYS: Maybe, but I think she played really well. I think she played really well all the way through. I even think the tiebreaker was a real high level on both sides.

For me, I definitely had to fight for each point. If I had let down at all, she would be right back in it. So I definitely don't think I felt any fatigue on her side.

Q. Did you feel like you had to hit winners all the time because she wasn't going to make a mistake, therefore you had to be aggressive?
MADISON KEYS: I, for sure, had to be more aggressive and go for my chances when I had them. I think it was a balancing act between going for the right shot at the right time and also staying consistent just knowing that she was going to get a couple of balls back and take the right shot.

Q. Did you kind of have to put the first set out of your mind and kind of reset and say, I've got to win two sets in a row and forget about the first set?
MADISON KEYS: I wasn't really even thinking I have to win two set. It was more, Get yourself in the match and make it at least competitive.

I was not very happy with my first set. Starting that second set, it was not focusing on what had just happened. Take a couple of things from it, learn from it, try to change it. Refocus and just focus on the set ahead.

Q. And looking ahead, it looks like you might be playing CoCo Vandeweghe in the final for the first time ever. How do you feel about that match up?
MADISON KEYS: I think it will be a lot of big serving and not the longest points.

But I love CoCo. We had a great Fed Cup week together a couple months ago and we're close friends, so that would be very exciting.

Obviously she's playing really well on grass. She hasn't lost a match yet. So it will be tough.

Q. She's picked up on your easier week this week.
MADISON KEYS: Oh, has she? She'll talk about that. I'm sure she'll text me tonight (smiling).

Q. You talked about the maturity side of things and coming through the tough matches like today. You're the second youngest player in the top 30. How do think that is going to benefit you going forward, that you've gotten to that stage in such a short amount of time in your career?
MADISON KEYS: I think a lot of people forget that I've been playing since I was 14. So not playing a full schedule, obviously, is a big factor of it, but I've been in those matches where it could have gone either way. Maybe there was a point or two that I didn't play smart.

I had that match in the second round against Lucie Safarova when I was 16 that I still remember certain points, like, Why did you do that? It was so dumb.

So there's been a lot of matches like that and a lot of things that I've gone through already. Whereas I feel there's not as many players starting at 14, 15, 16. So I think it's showing that it's getting tougher and tougher. I think the age is going up when you're playing your best tennis.

I wouldn't be surprised in two or three years, there's 22-, 23-year-olds first finding their footing. Everyone is getting better and better.

Q. Can you just talk about getting into the top 10. It's the first time there's been three Americans there since 2005. It's a huge milestone. Can I ask your reaction?
MADISON KEYS: I'm not sad about it. I'm really excited. I mean, right now, I'm just really focused on the final. I haven't even really put a ton of thought of being in the top 10. That will definitely sink in after the tournament.

I'm happy with it, but more focused on wanting to win the final tomorrow.

Q. You've got a game which is ideally suited to grass, particularly when the consistency levels go up a little bit. What do you think you can achieve on this surface?
MADISON KEYS: This the only surface that I have a title on. Obviously, it's one of my favorites. It definitely suits my game. I feel pretty comfortable playing on it.

Hopefully, I can win a couple more tournaments on this. I would love to do well at Wimbledon whenever I can.

I'm not going to sit here and say I'm going to win Wimbledon, but obviously, I'd really like to.

Q. You feel you're ready to do well at Wimbledon?
MADISON KEYS: Yeah, I mean, I made the quarterfinals last year, so I feel like I've done well at Wimbledon. Obviously, the quarterfinals isn't what I want. I want more. So, yeah, I'm going to do whatever I can to try to achieve more.

Q. Last year Serena Williams paid you a really big compliment. She said you could become No. 1. Is that a help or hindrance to get that sort of compliment hung around your neck?
MADISON KEYS: I've dealt with the pressure for a while. I think I've been pretty lucky the last couple years just because there's been so many other American players that have taken the spotlight at times. I think we've shared it, so I think that's been helpful.

But I think in the last year or so, I've learned how to handle the outside opinions and pressures a lot better. It's great to hear and I love that she thinks that seeing how successful she's been, but that just makes me work harder.

Q. One thing we noticed when people reach the top 10 for the first time, there's a switch from being the hunter to the hunted. How do you think you'll be prepare for that?
MADISON KEYS: I think you slowly have that happen. I think, whether it's when you're still play the ITFs, and all of a sudden, you're in the top 150, and you're the seeded one. Then you're in the top 50, then you're the seeded one in the first couple rounds of tournaments. So there's been that element of no longer being the lower-ranked player and feeling like you're the one who's supposed to win the match.

Obviously, it's never been this big for me, so I think that's definitely going to be something I have to deal with and learn how to handle. I'm definitely really happy that I'm in the position to have to handle it.

Q. You've two matches in a row now where you've had to stay calm and level-headed when you've gotten behind. Do you feel very much like you're equipped to deal with those situations whenever they arise now?
MADISON KEYS: Obviously, I'm not the world's greatest at it. There's going to be times when I don't do it as well. There's going to be times when I handle it well. I think it's just getting the practice at it and becoming more and more comfortable in that position. Really knowing that no matter what, I can figure out a way.

The last two matches have kind of shown that to me. I think you put that in your memory and use it for the next time and see what happens.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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