Serena Williams Tabs Keys as Future No. 1

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Serena Williams Tabs Keys as Future No. 1

After her victory over Madison Keys in Sunday's Internazionali BNL d'Italia final, Serena Williams went to bat for the 21-year-old American, saying that she could absolutely be a No. 1 someday.

Keys, who started her relationship with new coach Thomas Hogstedt last week with a trip to her biggest clay-court final, has long been considered a player with immense talent and potential, so it’s no surprise that fellow American Williams would give her a ringing endorsement.

That said, when a 21-time major champion says that someone has the potential to be the best in the world, it should not be ignored.

Never considered to be much of a threat on red clay, Keys exhibited a more organized game and calmer, more patient approach as she ripped through the draw last week in Rome, taking out Petra Kvitova and Garbine Muguruza in the process.

The American's improvement left Muguruza pretty impressed as well.

“I felt she was very loose today,” Muguruza said after falling to Keys in straight sets in the semis on Saturday in Rome. “I think maybe because she doesn't like clay. I don't know. But I felt she was playing great. Her serve was good today.”

She added: “Madison served really well, so she makes you feel, you know, putting a lot of pressure all the time. Was only two points' difference in the first set, and, well, it went to her side. But I'm really surprised how she played today.”

Keys says that winning on clay is about balance for her. “I think it's just been finding the balance of being aggressive but at the right moments,” she said. “I think a lot of the time I would either be too defensive or too aggressive, and I think it's finding the right balance.”

Tempering aggression and playing neutral tennis is a skill that the powerful American is slowly learning. She’s more than powerful enough that she can afford to add margin and subtract pace from her game and still be a terror to her opponents.

“I think it's really just been slowly practicing more and more on, you know, when to take the chance and when to kind of back off and play the right balls,” Keys said. “But, I mean, I think that happens on every surface. I don't think it's specifically just clay.”

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