Irina Begu was defeated by American Madison Keys, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (8/6), on Thursday in the second round of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Madrid, which has total prizes of 7,679. 965 euros.
Irina Begu. PHOTO: The Truth Archive
Begu (33 years old, 128 WTA) bowed out after two hours and 11 minutes of play, in front of a seed (18). In the first set, Begu came back from 2-4 and missed a set point at 5-4, later reaching the tiebreak, where the American prevailed 7-3. In the second set, Keys (29, 20 WTA) was 5-3, but Begu restored parity, 5-5, after saving three match points. Keys again had stronger nerves in the tiebreak, winning 8-6.
Keys, a finalist at the 2017 US Open, prevailed in their only previous meeting, 6-3, 6-1, in 2016, in the round of 16 in Miami.
Irina Begu is left with a check for 30,255 euros and 35 WTA points for her progress.
