Return Winners: the 2015 Charleston final

Angelique Kerber and Madison Keys squared off in their first clay-court tournament in 2015.

The 2015 season got off to a rather inauspicious start for Angelique Kerber. The German, who finished the prior year in the top 10, suffered a series of early-round losses on the hard courts, including a 1-2 showing between Indian Wells and Miami.

Seeded fifth at the clay-court kickoff in Charleston, S.C., Kerber advanced to her first final of the season. Along the way, she defeated her countrywoman, defending champion Andrea Petkovic, in the semifinals. Also making a charge through the tournament was Madison Keys, as the seventh-seeded American—who recently made a breakthrough at the Australian Open by reaching the semifinals—advanced to the championship round in Charleston without dropping a set.

Though their first two encounters were relatively straightforward affairs in Kerber’s favor, Keys had won their most recent match as she beat the German in the Eastbourne final on grass for her lone title. In the opening set here, Kerber effectively negated Keys’ power, breaking her in the first game and going on a roll from there, winning the first 6-2.

In the second set, Keys steadied herself as the two stayed on even ground throughout the majority of the frame. As Kerber served down 4-5, 30-40, Keys struck a forehand winner mid-rally to take the set and level the match.

The American’s momentum continued in the third set as she got an early break to go up 4-1. While Keys had turned up her aggression, Kerber had taken a backseat. On the verge of losing, the German reversed tactics and started forcing the issue more, eventually tying the set at 4-4. Keys halted the charge for one more game, going up 5-4, but Kerber would take the next three, clinching the title on a forehand error by Keys.

1

The finals win represented three separate firsts for Kerber: It was her first outdoors title and the sole clay-court event she’d won to this point. It was also her first tournament triumph in the United States.

2

Keys advanced to the quarterfinals or better at the tournament for the second time in three years, having made it to the last eight in 2013.

4

Kerber became the fourth German player to win the event, after Steffi Graf, Sabine Lisicki and the defending champion Petkovic.

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