Kerber Outlasts Keys for Family Circle Cup Title
Angelique Kerber stormed back from a 4-1 deficit in the third set to defeat Madison Keys 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 on Sunday afternoon to win the Family Circle Cup title in Charleston, S.C.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Kerber. “To win here after the really difficult weeks I had, I’m feeling great. Last year I had four finals and I didn’t win any of them, so it’s great that I actually won this one today. It’s just been a great week for me here. Everybody is so nice, and I’m really happy about my game.”
Kerber entered the Charleston tournament a loser in six of her previous eight matches, but quickly put that in the rearview. She used the clay to her advantage and kept her unforced errors down, especially in the final against Keys.
Kerber committed just 21 unforced errors to Keys’ 57. She was excellent on the groundstrokes and was able to neutralize the power of Keys.
“As geeky as it sounds, attitude is really important on clay,” said Keys. “You have to be positive about it. You have to just play your game, but make the minor adjustments you need to make for clay.”
The German won six of the final seven games to complete the comeback and capture the fourth title of her career.
“I worked very hard in the last few weeks, and every single match here I played very good,” said Kerber. “So I’m looking forward, and I think I have for sure the confidence that the next tournament will be going good too.”
