Keys tops Wozniacki to claim Charleston title

Madison Keys captured the fourth title of her career Sunday, and her first on clay, defeating Caroline Wozniacki, 7-6 (5), 6-3, in the final of the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, S.C.

Keys, seeded eighth in the tournament, broke No. 5 seed Wozniacki in the second set to take a 4-2 lead, then held serve for the remainder of the match to claim the championship.

"It means so much," Keys told WTATennis.com following her win. "I've always loved Charleston. It's always been one of my favorite tournaments, so to now be able to say that I've won the tournament and be on the trophy is really, really special.

"It's definitely been a really great week for me, especially after having some really tough losses the last couple of weeks. And to be able to really bounce back and have a really good week of training with my coach, Nacho, and then be able to come and win the tournament, it definitely is a very good springboard for heading over to Europe."

A 2015 finalist and 2018 semifinalist in Charleston, Keys improved her overall record at the event to 16-6 after Sunday's win. She was playing in her first singles final since finishing runner-up to fellow American Sloane Stephens at the 2017 US Open.

A 24-year-old from Boca Raton, Fla., Keys picked up her first career win against Wozniacki, as the Dane won their previous two matches, both Round-of-16 encounters, at the US Open in 2016 and Indian Wells in 2017.

After a bye in the first round, Keys' road to the final included a second-round victory over Tatjana Maria, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4, before a straight-sets, third-round win against No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko, 7-5, 6-2. She upset top seed Stephens, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-2, in the quarterfinals for her first win in four tries against the top-ranked American, and then easily dispatched Monica Puig, 6-4, 6-0, in the semifinals.

In addition to her Charleston title, Keys has won championships at Stanford in 2017, Birmingham in 2016 and Eastbourne in 2014.

She is expected to move up to No. 14 when the new rankings are released on Monday.