Story of the match
Great Britain’s Boulter geared up for Roland-Garros by lifting a maiden clay title at WTA 125 level on the nearby courts at the Lagardère Paris Racing club.
The 28-year-old transferred that form to frustrate Keys’ rythym in the prolonged opening exchanges, before Keys stole a 3-1 advantage with a gruelling 24 minutes played.
Keys’ inside-out forehand is a reliable metric for her comfort on court and the No.7 seed connected with a couple to keep Boulter at bay.
While the American kept changing through the gears, the Brit was searching for answers. Simply put, Keys was rushing her every single strike.
It was the inside-out forehand that rocketed past Boulter to consolidate an instant break at the start of the second set.
Boulter fended off match point at 5-1, skimming a backhand off the baseline to add to her tally. A backhand drop shot with devious back spin sent the determined world No.38 towards 5-3.
It was too late, Keys wasn’t about to derail her focus and managed to close out victory in 79 minutes.
