Takeaways: Keys wins Indian Wells opener in first match since Aussie Open

INDIAN WELLS -- Six weeks after her last match -- when she won her first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open -- Madison Keys

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The No. 5 seed was uncommonly crisp and clean after the layoff, dispatching Anastasia Potapova

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This was the 13^th consecutive match win for the 30-year-old American, a career best. Among Hologic WTA Tour players, only Clara Tauson

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Keys will play No. 28 seed Elise Mertens

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After making some big changes to her game -- notably, her racquet and service motion -- Keys is the only woman to win two titles this year, in Adelaide and Melbourne.

Here are three takeaways from her definitive win over Potapova:

Momentum, apparently, is overrated

After winning that life-altering title Down Under, Keys was tired and a little dinged up. A weary hamstring convinced her to head home to Orlando, Florida, so she missed the WTA 1000 events in Doha and Dubai. 

You never would have known it on Saturday. Forty-two days after defeating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka

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For three or four days after arriving at home, Keys said, she rarely left the house.

“Kind of just laid on the couch, was kind of just doing bare minimum, grocery shopping, and then that was kind of the outing of the day,” she said in press. “I mean, obviously physically it was a lot, but it’s just also mentally and emotionally it’s a lot.

“Being able to kind of just have some days at home and not have to do anything and just be horizontal was really nice.”

While Mirra Andreeva

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“Obviously momentum is great,” Keys said. “But being able to kind of reset and have time and be 100 percent ready is also really important.”

Winners for days

Keys has always had ludicrously powerful groundstrokes. Her forehand has been famously clocked at speeds exceeding most men. But sometimes in the past she relied on that power too much and tried to end points too quickly.

Against Potapova, Keys hit 28 winners, against only 10 unforced errors. On the surface, it’s not a remarkable number, but dig deeper. First off, none of those winners were aces, second, there were only 96 points in the match, meaning Keys hit winners on nearly 30 percent of the points -- and nearly two per game. Potapova, with only five winners, won 34 points overall.

In her meeting with reporters, Keys said hitting winners hasn’t been a conscious thing.

“Kind of just happens,” Keys said simply. “Yeah, just happens.”

The scary thing? The ease with which Keys hit a number of those winners from seemingly neutral positions on the court. Only Clara Tauson

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International Women’s Day

It’s been a day to celebrate the accomplishments of women for well over a century. On Saturday, Keys said the PIF WTA Maternity Fund Program, which will provide financial support for players, was another welcome advance for the  #Accelerate Action movement.

“I think being a female tennis player, we’re in a really unique position, because we are pretty much the highest-paid athletes,” Keys said. “It’s amazing that the WTA now has paid maternity leave.

“I think being an athlete and your job is your body and being able to kind of have that peace of mind is an amazing step forward. I'm very, very happy that the WTA has been able to do that.”