By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, July 7, 2015

 

Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Madison Keys, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the Wimbledon semifinal for the third time in the last four years.

Photo credit: Getty/Clive Brunskill

Biting drives from Madison Keys sometimes dislodged bits of the lines when they landed. Agnieszka Radwanska stared down the barrage and displaced the hard-hitting American with ball-control brilliance.

Swinging her serve to stretch the heavy hitter, Radwanska wrong-footed Keys so thoroughly the 20-year-old American tumbled to the court trying to recover the ball hit behind her on match point.

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Radwanska withstood the knock-out artist's heaviest blows and countered with guile and accuracy toppling Keys, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-3, to advance to the Wimbledon semifinals for the third time in the last four years.

The 13th-seeded Radwanska will play Garbiñe Muguruza for a spot in Saturday's final. The 20th-seeded Spaniard defeated 15th-seeded Swiss Timea Bacsinszky, 7-5, 6-3, to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.

It's been a tumultuous season for Radwanska, who fell from the Top 10 and split with coaching consultant Martina Navratilova during the spring. Grass-court season is her favorite time of year — a revitalized Radwanska dropped just 21 games reaching this quarterfinal — and in the end her shrewd court sense and sharp accuracy defused Keys' electric serve and superior power.

This was a rematch of the 2013 Wimbledon third round, which Radwanska won in three sets and later pronounced Keys' serve as one of the biggest shots in the sport. The No. 21 seed broke to open the match, but Radwanska responded breaking back to put matters back on serve.

Serving at 5-6, Keys saved a set point with an inside-out forehand. Soaking up the American's pace, Radwanska drew a scattered forehand for a third set point. Keys pushed the former finalist back on her heels, then stepped in and carved a slick backhand drop shot winner, bewildering Radwanska with a page from her own playbook. Successive forcing forehands helped Keys hold for 6-6.

The Pole's court sense and her skill at redirecting pace and keeping the ball low on the lawn paid dividends. Key's nearly quadrupled her opponent in winners (48 to 13), but couldn't take the net out of play when it mattered most. Tormented at times by the low ball, Keys clanked four errors, sailing a forehand beyond the baseline as Radwanska took the opener.

Radwanska is so light on her feet if you covered the soles of her shoes in chalk, she might not even leave foot prints across the lawn. She used the drop shot-lob combination effectively at times to test Keys' forward movement. Quick off the mark, Keys ran down a drop shot and spun a forehand for triple break point. Fortune favored the American when her backhand collided with the tape and dribbled over giving her the first break of the second set for 5-3. Keys, who cranked 12 aces in the match, lashed an ace down the T to level. Confronting one of the game's most accurate returners, Keys did not face a break point in winning the second set in a half an hour.

On pressure points, Keys has a tendency to force her backhand down the line prematurely. It's a bad habit that cost her with the match deadlocked at 3-all, 30-all in the third set. Wacking a wild backhand wide of the sideline rather than working the point to draw the mid-court ball, Keys coughed up the error as Radwanska held for 4-3.