Keys avenges Mboko in marathon three-setter at Roland Garros third round
PARIS -- For the sixth time, Madison Keys advances to the last 16 at Roland Garros.
Roland Garros: Scores | Order of play | Draws
After a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 defeat of World No. 9 Victoria Mboko in a 2 hour and 8 minute three-set marathon, No. 19 Keys secures her spot in the fourth round and will next face Diana Shnaider. Following defending champion Coco Gauff's defeat to Anastasia Potapova, Keys is the last American standing in women's singles.
"I don't think I've thought about it, to be honest," Keys laughed to press on being the last American standing. "Today I feel like there's been so much going on, and there's been some really long, crazy matches. It's kind of been hard to actually keep track of what's happening.
"There's always Wimbledon. The Americans can rebound at Wimbledon."
The 2018 French Open semifinalist could reach her fourth quarterfinal at the event against Shnaider, who by contrast, is in her first fourth round in Paris -- and second at any Grand Slam -- after defeating Oleksandra Oliynykova Saturday. Keys holds a perfect 3-0 record against the lefty, but Monday's matchup will be their first on clay.
Mboko won the only previous encounter with Keys, a three-set 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory in the quarterfinals at the 2026 Adelaide International, where Keys was the defending champion, so in some ways, Saturday was a bit of a revenge tour. The Canadian ultimately progressed to that final -- her first of three so far this season -- but now departs Roland Garros in the third round for the second straight year.
"I feel like this time it's different, because I felt like I had an expectation kind of coming into here being the No. 9 seed," Mboko said to press. "This is a new experience as well by being a seed and having so much other thoughts in my head. I feel pretty good with how I handled it."
It was a convincing start for Keys on Court Simonne-Mathieu, where the two opened the first three games with three breaks -- Keys lead 2-1 -- and the American held strong on serve, landing 63% of her first serves throughout the match. A third break of Mboko's serve (Keys finished with six) in the ninth game of the set secured the first set for the one-time Grand Slam champion.
Keys seemed well on her way to win in straight sets, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the second as Mboko couldn't find a solution, accruing several of her 43 unforced errors. Though in hindsight, it didn't affect the outcome of the set, Keys had a then-pivotal hold in the third game, saving three break points in six deuces.
Mboko eventually found her breakthrough, earning the break back to get the match back on serve. Keys had her chances late in the secons set, forcing two match points, but Mboko saved them both and won the final three games of the set to force a decider.
"I feel like when she's losing, she definitely plays a lot more free and really kind of just started taking full cuts," Keys said. "There's a couple of points that I wish I could go back and replay, but in all honesty, it's one or two.
"I don't feel like I played too poorly to kind of lose that lead. I think I was just really happy with, especially at the beginning of the third, I had a couple of tight service games, and to be able to kind of get through those, I think, were really important."
In the decider, paralleling the second set, Mboko -- down three games at 5-2 -- crawled her way back, winning 12 of the next 13 points with the help of her fourth and final break. Just like that, the match was heading down to the wire, and the veteran's experience paid off as Keys won eight of the final 10 points to book her spot in Paris' sweet 16.
"Super tough match, which was expected," Keys said. "I think mostly really happy with being able to kind of rebound after that second set, and be able to put myself back in the position to win, sometimes is the hardest thing."
