Sara Bejlek Beats Keys to Reach Cincinnati SF

Sara Bejlek beat Madison Keys 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) on Friday to reach her first WTA 1000 semifinal at the Cincinnati Open, Tennis Now's Richard Pagliaro reported. It took two hours and 37 minutes. Each woman won exactly 107 points. Each converted three of 10 break chances. The 20-year-old Czech then won five of the last six points of the tiebreak and put both arms in the air.

That is three Grand Slam champions in one draw. Pagliaro listed them: two-time major winner Barbora Krejcikova, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, and 2025 Australian Open champion Keys. Bejlek was ranked No. 111 this time last year. She walked into Friday's quarterfinal at No. 35 and left it at a career-high live ranking of No. 29, Tennis Now said. Cincinnati is her debut here. It is also her first WTA 1000 semifinal.

Sara Bejlek vs Madison Keys: a 7-6(5) finish

Keys jumped 3-0 in the first set and closed it in 41 minutes, Pagliaro wrote. Bejlek saved a set point with a running forehand down the line, then could not break Keys serving it out. In the second, Keys broke for 2-1. Bejlek broke back, held with aces, and took the set on her second set point after 87 minutes when Keys dumped successive shots into the net.

The third set was a steal and a giveback. Bejlek broke for 2-0 and led 4-1. Keys broke back for 3-4 after a Bejlek drop shot sat up. In the breaker, Keys hit a backhand volley winner to go up 4-2, then double-faulted. She was two points from the match at 5-4. Two missed forehands down the line handed Bejlek match point. One more forehand down the line ended it. "I believe much more than I ever believed in myself," Bejlek told Tennis Now. "I just keep believing in the match, no matter what."

Who Bejlek plays next in Cincinnati

Bejlek will face either 2023 Cincinnati champion Coco Gauff or Madrid winner Marta Kostyuk for a spot in the final, Tennis Now reported. AFP, via Flashscore, billed her as the giant-killer still standing after Keys. The other half of the women's draw already moved when Iga Swiatek advanced after Elena Rybakina retired with an ankle injury and Jessica Pegula won a three-set slugfest. Thursday also dumped Sabalenka and Alexander Zverev in the fourth round — Sabalenka at Bejlek's racket.

This is not a lucky loser story. It is a 5-foot-3 counterpuncher who mixed spin, serve-and-volley, and a forehand that held up later than Keys' did. Three-set record this year: 6-1, per Tennis Now. The US Open is next week. Friday in Mason was the night the Cinderella draw stopped being a plot and became a semifinalist.

Sara Bejlek Cincinnati FAQ

Did Sara Bejlek beat Madison Keys in Cincinnati? Yes. Tennis Now reported a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) quarterfinal win Friday in two hours and 37 minutes. Each player won 107 points.

Is this Sara Bejlek's first WTA 1000 semifinal? Yes. Pagliaro wrote it is her maiden WTA 1000 semifinal, in her Cincinnati debut, after she also beat Barbora Krejcikova and Aryna Sabalenka this week.

Who does Sara Bejlek play in the Cincinnati semifinals? Tennis Now said she will face either Coco Gauff or Marta Kostyuk. That quarterfinal was still on the Friday board when she finished.