US Open 2016 - Consistent Madison Keys puts rivals to shame

“How come you only won two tournaments in your life?” he asked. “How do you explain that? That's difficult for us to understand, especially today.”

The newly crowned champion smiled and answered after a beat: “ I think the important tournaments are the ones you've got to play well, the ones that really count, the ones that really take you to the top level.”

Along with Muguruza, 21-year-old Madison Keys has been 2016’s other breakthrough player – albeit by a very different path.

Where Muguruza’s form fluctuates wildly, Keys has been arguably the most consistent player on tour this spring and summer.

Across the three main surfaces, Keys captured the title in Birmingham, played another big (Masters) final in Montreal and reached the Olympics semifinals in addition to two fourth round showings at Roland Garros and Wimbledon which sealed her spot as the first new American in the top 10 since Serena Williams 17 years ago.

Like Muguruza, Keys was born into the arms race that women’s tennis has become since the power and athleticism of the Williams Sisters transformed the game. No woman hits the ball consistently harder and the average velocity of her strokes is beyond that of most male players, too. Her signature stroke is her serve; a long flowing motion that gracefully builds, then snaps into a 120mph bomb.

Even before Keys arrived on the WTA tour, mythical tales were told of this young American’s serve. Her countrywoman, Lauren Davis, once infamously shrugged off the challenge of facing Sam Stosur’s great topspin serve in 2011, because of a 15-year-old Keys.

“She has a really strong forehand and good kick serve, but my friend Madison Keys has a really good kick-serve to the backhand, and I'm used to that,” she said to general mocking. Nobody laughs anymore.

The obvious offset of Keys’ power and aggression was her erratic execution. Keys still spends half her time in press conference recalling moments in matches when her mind told her to put the ball in the court, while every single muscle in his body was imploring him to crush the said ball.

In modern women’s tennis, only two tall, uber-aggressive players have ever been able to achieve even a measure of tournament to tournament consistency, Lindsay Davenport (Keys’ former coach) and Maria Sharapova (whose ex-coach, Tomas Hogstedt, works with Keys now).

Muguruza’s comments after the French Open were significant because they define the mentality among the aggressive shotmakers of this time. The 2010s in women’s tennis have, in some way been defined by these often tall, aggressive players with so-so movement often admitting defeat at the idea of becoming consistent top player. They accept their volatile play, knowing it’s a price to pay for a high-risk, high-reward approach.

It’s also what makes Keys’ recent consistency so significant. Despite the impossible expectations heaped on all American players, nobody thought Keys could play this well across a host of tournaments. The expectations of Keys have always been that her trajectory would not differ too greatly from a Muguruza.

On Friday Keys found herself down 1-5 in the third set to young Japanese upstart Naomi Osaka. Until 7-5 4-4, the American had been inconsistent yet commanding with her. But cruising at 40-0, Keys threw in 5 horrific unforced errors in succession, and lost her serve. Keys would spend the next half hour lining forehands up before sending them flying at the back fence.

But despite falling down 1-5, she somehow survived. The American won 5 games in a row from the deficit, returning with a perfect plan as she sent deep, heavy balls straight down the middle as she cranked into gear. After momentum carried her to 6-5, Keys inexplicably lost her mind again.

The American began to tee off again, swiping ridiculously at returns and overhitting one return so badly that it hit the back fence. Keys missed five returns in a row, and by then, she simply kept pounding the ball until they finally began to land in, finally giving her the victory.

Keys’ near miss on Friday showed that her consistency is far from perfect – but she is becoming increasingly good at winning matches whilst playing badly. These are the building blocks to a game Keys hopes will stick with her from a long time and eventually win her more than just a slam. The key to tennis, after all, isn’t to randomly peak at the big events. It’s to win week in, week out, all year long. Not every young player has yet received that memo.