Keys says 'never too late' for success after reaching French Open quarters
The 30-year-old, who won her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne in January, reached the French Open last eight for the first time since 2019 with a 6-3, 7-5 win over fellow American Hailey Baptiste.
Keys reached the semi-finals in Paris in 2018 and the last eight the following year, but is playing in the second week for only the second time since.
"There's a lot of pressure to kind of immediately make it when you're a top junior, and I think sometimes you kind of lose the fun of all of it and all of the just amazing experience that you get to have through being a professional tennis player," said Keys, who turned pro at the age of 14.
"I think the biggest thing from all of it is that it's really never too late. I obviously had a lot of success earlier in my career, and then didn't quite get across the line until a few months ago."
Keys, seeded seventh in Paris, had made six Grand Slam semi-finals before lifting her first major trophy.
"There is really no time limit, and I think a lot of us, as time goes by, and we haven't gotten it, feel like time is running away," added the 2017 US Open runner-up.
"So I think there is no time limit. Anything can happen at any moment."
She will next face another American in Coco Gauff for a semi-final spot after the former US Open winner beat Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Keys has won three of her previous five meetings with the 21-year-old, although Gauff came out on top in their only previous Grand Slam encounter at Flushing Meadows in 2022.
"It's been really fun kind of getting to see her do so well at such a young age," Keys said of her quarter-final opponent.
"Sometimes I feel very old when talking to Coco, because she says things, and I'm, like, 'Yeah, I don't get that'.
"So there's definitely a big age gap that is sometimes shockingly obvious."
The world number eight said she arrived in the French capital refreshed after a surprise early exit in Rome to Peyton Stearns.
US third seed Jessica Pegula pointed to the gruelling nature of the European clay-court swing after her shock loss to French wildcard Lois Boisson on Monday.
"I actually went home after I lost early in Rome," added Keys.
"So in some ways I think it was a blessing in disguise for me, because I was able to go home for a little over a week.
© 2025 AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Ex-Fiji captain Nayacalevu has 'no regrets' over Test retirement
Centre Nayacalevu played the last of his 43 Tests in November's loss to Ireland having skippered the Pacific Islanders for the first time in 2021. The 34-year-old has joined Nice for next season, after their relegation to the French third-tier. "Today is not a goodbye to rugby. It's just the end of one chapter," Nayacalevu said on Instagram. "I look forward to giving back —- whether it's mentoring the next generation, supporting our grassroots programs, or simply being a proud fan in the stands. "I retire with no regrets, only gratitude — for every try scored, every challenge faced, and every anthem sung. "This jersey may leave my shoulders, but it will never leave my heart," he added.
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Djokovic and Sinner chase French Open semis as underdogs look for upsets
French wildcard Boisson, ranked 361st in the world, steps up against Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva with a chance to write her own chapter in French tennis history. Handed a wildcard to enter the tournament, the 22-year-old kept home hopes alive by battling past US third seed Jessica Pegula to reach the last eight. "Obviously, it's a dream to begin with. I hope to go further," said the player from Dijon. "This is my favourite surface. As soon as the clay season starts, this is when I feel best and when I feel happiest." Second seed Coco Gauff will play seventh seed Madison Keys in an all-American quarter-final, looking to join world number one Aryna Sabalenka and three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek who are already through to the final four in the other half of the draw. Djokovic will compete in a record 19th French Open quarter-final against last year's runner-up Alexander Zverev. The German third seed will be well rested after his last-16 opponent Tallon Griekspoor retired on Monday with an abdominal injury while trailing 6-4, 3-0. Zverev, who lost to Carlos Alcaraz in last year's final, continues his latest bid for a maiden Grand Slam title after three runner-up finishes. "For me, Carlos is the favourite. Then I would say the next three in line are Jannik, myself, and Novak, right? I still believe that," said Zverev, who could meet world number one Sinner in the semi-finals. Zverev has made at least the last four at the past four French Opens and is into his seventh quarter-final. The 28-year-old has won five of his 13 career matches with Djokovic, including in Melbourne in January when the Serb retired injured from their semi-final. 'Pretty dominant' Djokovic, a three-time champion at Roland Garros, is just the second player to record 100 wins at the event after 14-time winner Rafael Nadal (112). "It's a very pretty number, but 101 victories sounds better," said 38-year-old Djokovic who has reached the quarter-finals at the clay-court major for a 16th consecutive year. "I will continue to search for another victory, it's clearly not finished for me here. I'm very honoured to make history in this sport, which has given me everything in my life." World number six Djokovic is chasing a record 25th major title and has a 100-16 record at Roland Garros. Italian Sinner takes on unseeded Kazakh Alexander Bublik, who hailed his emotional four-set win over fifth seed Jack Draper in the last 16 as the "best moment of his life". Sinner leads 62nd-ranked Bublik 3-1 in previous meetings. Both Sinner and Djokovic have not dropped a set so far. The Italian reached the semi-finals last year where he lost a five-set battle to Spaniard Alcaraz. Australian Open champion Keys plays Gauff against whom she has a 3-2 record winning their only meeting on clay in Madrid last year. "It feels great to be back in the quarters here, and really happy with how I played today and hopefully can keep going," said Gauff who has 15 wins on clay this year. Former US Open champion Gauff puts her success on the surface down to her unwavering belief that she can turn a match in her favour no matter the score. She is hoping to make it third time lucky at the French Open, after losing in the finals in Madrid and Rome last month. Gauff made her first Grand Slam final in Paris in 2022 at the age of just 18. "I remember meeting Coco for the first time, and in my head she was, like, nine years old," joked 30-year-old Keys, who won her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne in January. "And just kind of watching her play, I knew that she was going to be someone that was going to be pretty dominant pretty quickly." © 2025 AFP
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
'The sea rejuvenates you': Cuban seniors defy aging by diving in
The 87-year-old former revolutionary, who helped Fidel Castro fight his way to victory over a dictatorship in 1959, took up swimming relatively late in life, in his sixties. Before that, "I knew how to float, I used to bob about in the water like everyone else but I didn't know the different strokes," the silver-haired ex-soldier said. Now, he spends a full two hours a day cleaving through the aquamarine waters of the Caribbean and has a bunch of amateur swimming titles to his name. "I have almost no challengers. In my age category, very few people know how to swim," he confided with a smile. Lazaro Diaz, 75, was also a pensioner when he learned to swim as a panacea for a weak heart and recurring back pain. "I was starting to feel the effects of aging," said Diaz, who undertakes a six-kilometer (3.7-mile) round trip from home every day to get in his vivifying 400-meter (1,300-foot) swim. "In the water I don't feel (any pain)," he added. Juventud Acumulada operates out of one of a string of leisure centers built for the Cuban elite along the coast west of Havana between the 1930s and 1950s. The centers were later nationalized by Castro's communist government and transformed into "workers' social circles" or CSOs. The glamor of the Otto Parellada CSO -- named after a young rebel killed fighting the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship -- has long since been eroded by the elements and successive economic crises. The pale green paint on the club house is peeling. And the ladder that once led from the pier to the water was swept away by a hurricane, meaning swimmers now have to negotiate a slippery sea wall. But the bronzed elder statesmen and -women of swimming remain undaunted. Juventud Acumulada was founded by a local amateur swimming champion, Ramon Cordoves, who honed his technique by reading tips from legendary Romanian-born American Olympian and actor Johnny Weissmuller, of "Tarzan" fame. The club is now open to swimmers of all ages but is most closely associated with its old-timers, who fly its colors at competitions across the island. Its oldest member, Maria Antonia Cendoya, recently took gold in a 50-meter race at the tender age of 88. At a time when Europeans are going crazy for wild swimming in lakes, lochs and oceans, Quintana summed up the benefits of a dip in the sea: "The sea rejuvenates you, gives you energy, makes you happy and relieves stress. The sea is wonderful." © 2025 AFP
