By the numbers: Keys, Pegula set another showdown in Australian Open fourth round

Americans Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula were each straight-set winners at the Australian Open on Saturday, putting the two good friends through to a Round of 16 showdown -- and their fourth career head-to-head meeting.

Australian Open: Scores | Draws | Order of play

Although scorching temperatures in Melbourne forced play to begin an hour earlier than typically scheduled, neither Keys nor Pegula were put off by the change in routine against unseeded opponents. No. 6 seed Pegula was a 6-3, 6-2 winner on Margaret Court Arena over qualifier Oksana Selekhmeteva, while defending champion Keys ran her unbeaten AO run to 10 with a 6-3, 6-3 win over former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova.

Keys leads Pegula 2-1 in their overall head-to-head -- including a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win on Australian soil in the final of the Adelaide International last January. 

0: Something will have to give when Keys and Pegula face off, as neither player has dropped a set so far at the Australian Open.

2: The match between Keys and Pliskova marked only the second-ever meeting between two stalwarts of the WTA Tour Driven By Mercedes-Benz. Both, incidentally, have come in Australia. Pliskova beat Keys to win 2020 Brisbane International.

4: Both Americans broke serve four times in their third-round wins. 

11: Pegula has now reached the Round 16 at a major 11 times, all in the last five years.

12: The winner of Keys vs. Pegula assures that there will be at least one American in the Australian Open quarterfinals for the 12th straight year. 2014 marked the last season without one. 

25: Keys struck 25 winners in victory, and in total, the pair struck 38 winners.

125: Keys now owns 125 wins at Grand Slam events, second only to Venus Williams (127) among active players.

Pegula on the challenge of facing Keys

"She plays very well down here. Obviously we know that. She's defending champion. I think she's kind of embracing that and has been playing some pretty good matches, as well. Pretty straightforward.

"It will be interesting. I think I need to kind of go back to the drawing board and look at some things I need to change. The last few times I've played her I feel like I just -- she played well, I think, in Adelaide last year.

"I do feel like I'm doing some things better this year, you know, in the last six months where hopefully I can use those tools, and it will help me when I play her in a couple days.

"I kind of need to figure out some things that I need to do different against her, because I've lost the last couple times. She's the type of player, when she's on, she can beat anybody. We know that. I'm just going to have to use some of the tools I think that I've gotten better at, and hopefully they work. We'll see. But I'm excited for the challenge to kind of hopefully turn that around a little bit."

Keys on the power of friendship

"We could literally be friends and laughing 'til the moment we walk on the court. Then in that moment we both want to win and we both are competitors. We're going to do whatever we can to get the W.

"The moment it's over, you're back to being friends. I think those are one of those things that I actually really love tennis, because it's taught a lot of us how to just kind of manage our friendships and relationships and be able to genuinely love each other and are close and all of that, but also still be really competitive."