Tennis-Keys locks up second Adelaide title with win over Pegula

(Reuters) – Madison Keys fought through a leg injury to beat Jessica Pegula 6-3 4-6 6-1 in an all-American Adelaide International final on Saturday, continuing her good form heading into the Australian Open.

Keys, who also won the Adelaide title in 2022 and made the quarter-finals in Auckland last week, sent down 10 aces and fired off 26 winners as she took an hour and 43 minutes to beat world number seven Pegula.

The title was the ninth of Keys’ career and set her up perfectly for a first-round meeting with American Ann Li at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.

“I haven’t been back (to Adelaide) since 2022, and I was lucky enough to lift the trophy then,” said Keys, who is seeded 19th at the year’s first Grand Slam.

“And now I’m back, and I’m holding it once again. So I feel like I should just keep coming back to Adelaide. Clearly, I do well here.”

The 29-year-old took 30 minutes to seal the opening set but needed an off-court medical timeout after losing the first three games of the second, returning with her left leg strapped up.

Pegula went on to take the set and force a decider but Keys responded well in the third, winning the last five games in a row.

Pegula faces Australian Maya Joint in the first round at Melbourne Park.

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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