Keys saves two match points to reach the third round in Cincinnati

Madison Keys struggled in her opening match in Cincinnati against Eva Lys, ranked 62nd in the world.

The American, winner of the last Australian Open, once again showed her resilience to claim her sixteenth win of the year in three sets.

Lys was close to victory, dominating the first set 6-1, before earning two match points at 6-5 in the final set. But the German, who had a record of seven losses in as many encounters against top 10 players before this match, missed these two opportunities and eventually lost 7 points to 1 in the tie-break.

A small miracle for Keys, who won 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 to reach the third round in Ohio. This marks the fourth match she has won this season after saving one or more match points.

Responsible for 71 unforced errors, she will need to elevate her game and be cautious against Aoi Ito in her next match. The Japanese player, who had ousted Jasmine Paolini in Montreal, defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova earlier in the day.