ROTHESAY INTERNATIONAL

June 30, 2023

Madison Keys

Devonshire Park

Press Conference

M. KEYS/C. Gauff

6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: You're into another final here in Eastbourne, a place you know well. Just talk us through how happy you are to get through that match today.

MADISON KEYS: Really happy with how everything went today. Obviously a tough opponent in Coco, but I feel like I played a really solid match. Happy to be into another final here.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You had an incident in the second set and you were holding your hip. How are you from that? What was the issue?

MADISON KEYS: That I slipped and fell (smiling).

Q. But I mean in terms of your body, where was...

MADISON KEYS: I mean, yeah, I just took a slip and my hip went in a direction it shouldn't have gone in. Hopefully it's fine for tomorrow.

Q. You have drawn a British player in the first round of Wimbledon. How much do you know about Sonay Kartal?

MADISON KEYS: To be honest, I didn't know. I'm pretty focused on tomorrow, and then I will move on to Wimbledon after this tournament is officially over.

Q. Have you had treatment on the hip since you came off the court?

MADISON KEYS: No, not yet.

Q. You said hopefully it will be fine for tomorrow. Is there a doubt?

MADISON KEYS: I mean, I don't think so. I'm just... we'll see (smiling).

Q. Watching your match, obviously forehands, serves, massive as always. Your backhand down the line, though, seemed to be quite a big winner for you today. You clearly exchanged crosscourt rallies, forehands, but when you were in a back-of-the-court backhand exchange, that one down the line seemed to be winning the match for you. Is that your reading of the situation as well?

MADISON KEYS: I mean, I definitely think that Coco's backhand is better than her forehand, and I think she definitely feels more comfortable on that side. It was definitely obviously a game plan to not get in that kind of rally.

So whenever I had the opportunity to change, I was doing it. I think I was doing it very well today. Probably better than I was anticipating and expecting.

So a lot of times that was the winning shot. But yeah, it obviously was a tactic of mine, but also was just working incredibly well today.

Q. Why was it working incredibly well today?

MADISON KEYS: I think sometimes it's just how it goes. I think I was waiting for the right one and had enough space there, and I think also with the wind and everything, everything gets a little bit more complicated.

Q. What's your current relationship with Lindsay Davenport? Do you talk regularly with her? Is it like you phone her once every three months when you've got an issue? She's listed as sort of someone who is like a permanent/temporary mentor to you. What's the relationship?

MADISON KEYS: We pretty much send like Wordles back and forth every single day (smiling). So it's a pretty close relationship. Obviously it started for tennis, and at this point has reached more than that.

She's someone that is incredibly close to me, and I can go to her for anything. It's pretty regular.

Q. Who's ahead in the Wordle scores?

MADISON KEYS: Depends on the day. We don't take losses very well though (smiling).

Q. You must be keeping a record, because you get your record every time you complete it.

MADISON KEYS: We typically do the, what is it, Quordle and Octordle where it's more than one, so it's more of a daily competition.

Q. You have obviously got yourself, Jess, Coco, and Bernarda as well in the top 30 of the women's rankings at the moment. How exciting is the future of American women's tennis?

MADISON KEYS: I think it's in really good hands. There is obviously a lot of up-and-coming, as long as Jess and I who are kind of hanging strong at the end. But I think women's tennis in the States has been incredibly strong for a really long time. I don't see that changing anytime soon.