Bank of the West: Madison Keys, Nicole Gibbs…
Bank of the West: Madison Keys, Nicole Gibbs ousted
By Carl Steward | Bay Area News Group
July 25, 2013 at 11:19 a.m.
STANFORD — Two potential stars of American women's tennis are going to have to wait for their big professional breakthrough. It won't be happening at this week's Bank of the West Classic.
In a Thursday night second-round stunner, highly touted 18-year-old Madison Keys was humbled 7-6 (0), 6-2 by Russian veteran Vera Dushevina in the feature match at Taube Family Tennis Center.
Even though unseeded, Keys at least appeared to have a clear path to the quarterfinals. But she unexpectedly joined 20-year-old ex-Stanford standout Nicole Gibbs as a tournament casualty. In a result that was a little more predictable, Gibbs, playing in her first WTA event as a pro, was ousted by another American, No. 4 seed Jamie Hampton, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3.
But Keys' exit was a big blow for the Bank of West's hope for a big weekend draw. It was also obviously a big blow to her, too, as she had trouble controlling her emotions when she met the media afterward.
"My timing was off, everything was off," said Keys, who had tears in her eyes. "It just wasn't my night, and it was frustrating. But obviously, she played really well. All the credit to her."
With a diminished field, it appeared the tall, hard-hitting up-and-comer from Boca Raton, Fla., might be in a good position to make her first deep run in a WTA event.
Dushevina, 26, spoiled all that, however. After having to qualify just to get into the main draw, the Russian's chances against Keys didn't seem particularly good considering she hadn't won a main-draw match all year before this tour stop.
But demonstrating a consistently strong return of serve and also winning 58 percent of her second-serve points, Dushevina overcame nine double faults to totally fluster her younger opponent.
After a back-and-forth first set that featured two breaks by each player and ultimately, Dushevina took psychological control of the match by winning seven straight points in the tiebreaker.
"I played against her last year, so I knew her game," said Dushevina. "I just tried to do my best and play my game, because she's a really powerful player."
American-born representation in the quarterfinals now falls to Hampton, who required 2 hours, 12 minutes to finish off Gibbs, and much of that was Hampton's own fault. The 23-year-old Alabama native consistently demonstrated superior power to the two-time NCAA champion but made nearly 50 unforced errors.
Hampton knew she would be rusty, having not played a match since reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon. Moreover, playing her first WTA event as a seeded player, she had something totally foreign to her — a first-round bye.
"I've been here a week now, and I hadn't played," said Hampton, who will play Dushevina in the quarterfinals Friday afternoon. "I've never had anything like that. It's one of the perks being one of the top four seeds and getting a much later start, but it's something I'm going to have to deal with and learn as I go."
Hampton also had to deal with a large rooting section that was pulling for Gibbs, including a boisterous group of Stanford football players led by quarterback Kevin Hogan.
"I'm not going to say that they were obnoxious or anything, but they definitely were a tough crowd," Hampton said.
Earlier in the day, No. 3 seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia defeated unseeded Stephanie Voegele of Switzerland 7,5, 7-6 (5), and No. 7 seed Urszula Radwanska of Poland, younger sister of top seed Agnieszka Radwanska, advanced to the quarters with a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) victory over Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.
Carl Steward | Sports columnist
Carl Steward has been a sportswriter for Bay Area News Group newspapers for more than 40 years, covering all manner of sports as a beat writer, columnist and jack-of-all-trades reporter. He has covered numerous Super Bowls, World Series, major golf tournaments and even did turns covering horse racing's Triple Crown and soccer's World Cup. He has also written the popular light-hearted "Darting Here and There" column for many years.
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