For a brief moment Monday, it looked as though Madison Keys had finally figured out Renata Zarazúa. But that proved to be short-lived. Keys couldn't maintain her second-set rally, suffering a surprising upset against Zarazúa, who won (6-7, 7-6, 7-5) in the first round of the 2025 U.S. Open.
Zarazúa gave Keys fits the entire match. In what was supposed to be an easy win for the No. 6 ranked woman, Keys barely managed to put Zarazúa away in the first set. Keys eventually did win the set 7-6, but only after it went to a tiebreak.
Early in the second set, Keys appeared to find her stride. She took an early 3-0 lead over Zarazúa, and appeared in command, but couldn't hold the advantage. Keys went on to make 29 unforced errors in the second set, falling to Zarazúa 6-7 to set up a third — and final — set.
The final set followed the same blueprint as the first two. Zarazúa and Keys traded games early, with Zarazúa taking a narrow 4-3 lead in the final set. She broke through in the eighth game, picking up yet another win to push her lead to 5-3.
With the match on the line, Keys rallied to make it 5-5. Zarazúa took the next set, again putting herself in position to win the match. This time, she finished off Keys, winning the final set 7-5 and taking the match.
While Keys led the way with seven aces, unforced errors appeared to be her downfall in the loss. Keys committed an astonishing 89 unforced errors vs. Zarazúa, the majority of which came in the first two sets. Keys did play a cleaner game in the final set, but it was too late by then.
It's a significant loss for Keys, who was arguably playing some of the best tennis of her career in 2025. Keys kicked off the year by winning the Australian Open. She then reached the quarterfinal at the French Open for the first time since 2019. Keys wasn't as impressive at Wimbledon, falling in the third round.
Monday's match marked just the second time Keys and Zarazúa faced off. Keys won the first encounter, beating Zarazúa at the 2024 French Open. With her win Monday, Zarazúa evened the their head-to-head record.
This story will be updated.
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