New Zealand's Emily Fanning came close causing an upset at the US Open junior tennis tournament today but went down to American hotshot Madison Keys 6-1 6-7(1) 6-3.
Keys had already played as a wildcard in both the singles and doubles of the main US Open and her power saw her rip through the first set in just 19 minutes but Fanning, the world's 63rd-ranked junior, upset her more fancied opponent with a change of pace in the second set. She had a chance to go ahead 3-2 in the third set but couldn't convert.
"It took me a while to get used to her hard hitting,'' Fanning said. "She's a great player. I think I did well to get back into the match. I knew what I was up against. She was six foot when she was 12 years old when I played her at the Orange Bowl tournament. Once she gets into a rhythm I couldn't do anything.''
Fanning will now play doubles with Turkey's Basak Eraydin against a Bolivian pair on Tuesday.