Madison Keys’ cool under pressure carries her into the Wimbledon quarterfinals

Madison Keys was one point away from trailing 6-3, 5-1 in her fourth round match against Mirra Andreeva on Monday. Her Wimbledon quarterfinal hopes looked all but dashed and it appeared she would be the next to fall to the 16-year-old prodigy.

But Keys had other plans.

Her fiancé, and current unofficial coach, Bjorn Fratangelo, also a professional tennis player, reminded her from his seat in the player box that she was only down a break, even if the deficit felt larger. He encouraged her to just keep putting the pressure on Andreeva. Keys took his message to heart.

And while many watching might have already written her off, she clawed her way back, fighting point-by-point to force a tiebreak and then a decider. In the end, relying on her experience and calm under pressure, she won the match, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 and advanced to the quarterfinals at the All England Club for the first time since 2015.

“I knew if I could just stay in the match, then hopefully my many, many, many more years on tour would kick in,” Keys, 28, said on court after the victory.

Playing in her ninth Wimbledon main draw, those years, and all the lessons learned along the way, did just that. Keys changed her game plan and dug deep into her arsenal. She started coming to the net — ultimately winning 25 of 43 net points — and did whatever she could to throw Andreeva off. A switched-hand winner in the second set immediately went viral.

“What did we just see?”@Madison_Keys switched hands mid-point 😲#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/lNdv0rLlm7

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2023

Andreeva, playing in only her second major, grew increasingly frustrated as Keys’ level continued to rise. She threw her racket after losing the second-set tiebreak, earning a warning from the chair umpire, and then was given a controversial point penalty at match point for repeating the offense. Through it all, Keys remained quiet and focused, recognizing she had something her opponent did not in the moment.

“There’s definitely that in the back of my head, just kind of knowing if I can push her and keep the pressure on and all of that,” Keys said. “She’s obviously not been in many situations like this. Just being able to use [the] experiences that I’ve been in.”

Since turning professional in 2009 — when Andreeva was just two years old — Keys has won seven WTA…