INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Newly minted Australian Open champion Madison Keys crushed Anastasia Potapova 6-3, 6-0 at Indian Wells on Saturday in her first match as a Grand Slam champion.
Keys broke Russian Potapova’s serve for a third time to clinch the first set and rolled through the one-sided second set under sunny skies in the California desert to extend her winning streak to 13 matches.
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“I’m so happy to be here,” Keys said in an interview on center court after the match.
“Australia was obviously an amazing moment, so it’s really nice to be playing at home for my first tournament back at a place I’ve played at so many times in front of some amazing people.”
Next up for world No. 5 Keys is a third-round meeting with No. 28 seed Elise Mertens, who beat Kimberly Birrell of Australia 6-4, 7-5 later Saturday.
Also Saturday, top seed Aryna Sabalenka was tested but ultimately prevailed over young American McCartney Kessler 7-6 (4), 6-3.
The Belarusian was in full command of her formidable serve and never faced a break point while crushing six aces and winning 90% of her first-serve points.
She sealed the win with a pair of deft backhand volleys on match point to set up a meeting with Italian Lucia Bronzetti.
Reuters contributed to this story.
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