Keys, Stephens win on French Open Day 6

Madison Keys was unable to beat nightfall in Paris on Day 5, but she needed just 30 minutes of sunlight on Friday to power into the third round of the French Open.

No. 14 seed Keys defeated world No. 132 Priscilla Hon, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, to give the U.S. five women in the Round of 32 for just the third time in the past 15 years.

Their second-round match started late Thursday evening but was suspended at the end of the second set when it became too dark to play. Unlike the US Open, the French Open does not have artificial lights and is therefore dependent on natural daylight.

“Whenever you're fourth and you know there are no lights, especially after two men's matches, you know there is always a chance that you're going to have to come back and finish it,” Keys said about her two-day match. “It's not ideal, but very happy that I got the win.”

Keys will play Anna Blinkova for a spot in the fourth round after Blinkova upset No. 24 seed Caroline Garcia on Friday. Should Keys move on, she could face world No. 1 and top seed Naomi Osaka, who has won the past two majors but has been forced to rally from a set down in each of her opening two matches in the French capital. 

The last time there were more American women in the Round of 32 in France was in 2004, when Serena and Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Meghann Shaughnessy and Marissa Irvin all advanced past the second round.

Leading by one set, Keys had a chance to wrap up her match on Thursday. But she was broken at 5-5 in the second set despite building a 40-15 lead and having three game points that, had she converted, would have made Hon serve to stay in the tournament. Instead, Hon took the 6-5 lead and then served it out to love before play was halted.

Returning to the court Friday morning, Keys dropped her opening service game but broke Hon at 1-0 and 3-4 to forge a decisive 5-3 lead. The American saved a break point in the very next game before punching her ticket to the third round on her first match point. 

The win moved the 24-year-old Florida resident into the third round in Paris for the fourth time in her career, following a semifinal run last summer, a fourth-round appearance in 2016 and a third-round showing in 2015. 

Keys, who trains at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla., has now reached the third round or better in the past seven majors. Should she replicate the feat at Wimbledon next month, eight straight third-round appearances would tie her career high, set between the 2015 Australian Open and the 2016 US Open. 

In April, Keys beat three Grand Slam champions and an Olympic gold medalist to win the WTA Premier event in Charleston, but she’s taking the “clay-court specialist” title tongue-in-cheek.

“I think it's just been lots of years on clay now and understanding how I have to adapt my game a little bit to play on the surface,” Keys said. “More than that, just feeling more and more comfortable with my movement and not rushing to finish points.

“I think people are still joking when they say [clay-court specialist]. I definitely feel more comfortable on clay, and I actually enjoy it, so every year is a little bit better. But I think people are still joking when they say that.”

Elsewhere on Day 6, Sloane Stephens became the first American into the fourth round this year with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win over Polona Hercog inside Court Suzanne-Lenglen. Stephens saw four match points come and go in the second set, but she go over the finish line in the third, racing out to a 4-0 lead before putting the finishing touches to an up-and-down performance.

Stephens, a finalist in Paris 12 months ago, will face Garbiñe Muguruza in the enxt round after the No. 19 seed beat ninth-seeded Elina Svitolina on Friday.

On Saturday, Serena Williams will play Sonya Kenin, and Amanda Anisimova will play Irina-Camelia Begu as they attempt to join Stephens in the Round of 16.

Anisimova and Swiss doubles partner Xenia Knoll retired from their second-round women's doubles match on Friday against Anna-Lena Friedsam and Laura Siegemund, trailing 5-0 in the opening set. French Tennis Federation representatives cited a viral infection for Anisimova as the official reason but noted the teenager has not pulled out of the singles competition.