In the first round of the hard court championship in Montreal, two American tennis players, Venus Williams and Madison Keys, will face off. I'll place my bet on Keys to win with a game handicap of -5.5.
43-year-old Venus, currently ranked 524th in the world, previously participated in Wimbledon, where she lost in the first match to Svitolina with a score of 4:6, 3:6. Prior to this in Birmingham, Williams beat Giorgi with a score of 7:6 (7:5), 4:6, 7:6 (8:6), despite the clear advantage of her opponent, but later succumbed to Ostapenko with a score of 3:6, 7:5, 3:6. Her previous tournament in Hertogenbosch was also unsuccessful, and Venus lost to Naef with a score of 6:3, 6:7 (3:7), 2:6.
Before participating in Birmingham, Venus had not played for 5 months, and her last tournament was held in January in Auckland on hard court. There she managed to get through the first round, securing a victory over Volynets with a score of 7:6 (7:4), 6:2, but lost to Zhu Lin in the 1/8 finals with a score of 6:3, 2:6, 5:7. In 2022, Venus played only 4 matches, all on hard court, and lost all of them.
28-year-old Madison, ranked 16th in the world, previously participated in the Washington tournament, where she reached the quarterfinals. As part of the tournament, she overcame Zheng with a score of 7:5, 6:1 and Brady with a score of 6:4, 6:0, but then succumbed to Sakkari with a score of 3:6, 3:6. Earlier, Madison showed a good game at Wimbledon, claiming four victories. As part of the tournament, she dealt with Kartal with a score of 6:0, 6:3, Golubic 7:5, 6:3, Kostyuk 6:4, 6:1 and Andreescu 3:6, 7:6 (7:4), 6:2, but lost to Sabalenka with a score of 2:6, 4:6.
The preceding tournament in Eastbourne also went well for Keys, who clinched the title without dropping a set. Madison overcame Martincova with a score of 7:6 (7:4), 6:4, Su-Wei Hsieh 6:2, 7:6 (7:3), Martic 6:4, 6:1, Gauff 6:3, 6:3 and Kasatkina with a score of 6:2, 7:6 (15:13). At the French Open, she secured a lone victory over Kaia Kanepi with a score of 6:1, 3:6, 6:1, but later fell short against Day with a score of 2:6, 6:4, 4:6. In Rome, she advanced to the 1/8 finals where she defeated Frech and Azarenka, but then lost to Kalinina. In Charleston, Keys reached the 1/4 finals, beating Navarro, Baptiste, and Linette, but lost to Kasatkina.
Madison started the current season with six straight wins in Australia. At the United Cup, she secured victories over Bouzkova, Niemeier, Swan, Linette, and Bronzetti. Then at the Australian Open, she overcame Blinkova and Wang, but was unable to defeat Azarenka. In Dubai, Keys reached the quarterfinals, beating Paolini, Garcia, and Azarenka, but then fell to Gauff.
The athletes have met 5 times before, with the scoreline 3:2 in Keys' favour.
Keys is having a stable season and is generally superior in class to her opponent. Williams, on the other hand, has only played six matches this season, four of which were losses. I think Williams won't be able to resist Keys, and I'll place my bet on a victorious Madison.
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