Madison Keys and Daria Kasatkina will take on each other in the Rothesay International final on Saturday. On Friday, each came through their respective semi-final match-ups.
Keys was the first to make it to the final after clinching a 6-3, 6-3 win against fifth seed Coco Gauff in an American derby. Keys needed 81 minutes to wrap up the proceedings. Both players won 50% of their second-serve points but Keys won 72% of her first-serve points to Gauff’s 54%. She saved two of the three break points she faced while converting four of seven break points on her opponent’s serve. For the match, the 28-year-old won 67 points to Gauff’s 52.
After the match, Keys said, “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.”
This is the first final Keys’ reached since she won the 2022 Adelaide International (b. Alison Riske) in January. This is also the second time she’s made it to the final in this particular tournament. Back in 2014, she’d won her maiden WTA title here, beating Angelique Kerber in the finale.
Rothesay Classic: Daria Kasatkina thwarts Camila Giorgi
Keys’ opponent in the final, Daria Kasatkina came through against Camila Giorgi in their semi-final. The ninth seed needed an hour and 23 minutes to post a 6-2, 7-5 win over the Italian.
Kasatkina built a strong 4-1 lead for herself in the second set and even had a point for a 5-1 lead but Giorgi made a strong comeback and kept the set at serve until the 10th game. Kasatkina, however, won the 11th and 12th games consecutively to ensure a straight-sets win for herself. This is the first time she’s made it to the final here.
Meanwhile, the Rothesay International final will be the 11th time Madison Keys and Daria Kasatkina will be playing each other. Keys holds the upper hand in their previous match-ups and has won eight matches to the latter’s two.
Photo Credit: Palermo Ladies Open Twitter