Madison Keys and Barbora Strycova will go head-to-head on Sunday in Birmingham to conclude the AEGON Classic's thrilling singles tournament. After a week of rain delays and suspensions of play, two beloved players headline the final. It will be an enticing clash of opposite styles of play, which will make for unique shot selections and lengthy, unpredictable exchanges.
Road to the final two
Keys could not have asked for a better performance thus far on the prestigious grass of Birmingham. The American has had a plethora of dangerous opponents put in her path. She opened up her tournament campaign with a tight win over an in form Timea Babos before putting away the grass-court specialist Tamira Paszek in comfortable fashion. Keys went on to face the 2014 Wimbledon girl's champion, Jelena Ostapenko, after being down a set and 2-0. Her path to the final was closed with a thrilling, clutch victory over an always-tricky Carla Suarez Navarro, 7-6(3) in the decisive set.
Strycova has had an equally as tough journey to Sunday, especially since the nifty Czech is also still alive in the doubles tournament as well. She began her priceless week with an upset over her doubles partner and Fed Cup teammate, Karolina Pliskova. The task did not get any easier as she had to overcome Heather Watson and the British crowd in straight sets before knocking out the recent successor, Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-2, 7-5. Unlike Keys, Strycova dropped her first set in the semifinals, where she ousted last week's Ricoh Open champion, Coco Vandeweghe.
Previous encounters, American leads series 2-1
Sunday will host the pair's first career meeting on grass, but it will be their third meeting in a matter of five weeks. The Czech won their first match back in 2014 on the hard courts of Wuhan. But it was Keys who came out on top in their two meetings in 2016, which both came on the European red clay this May. The championship will be interesting to witness as the two will battle on grass for the first time, especially since their different games will matchup for brilliant points on the quick, low-bouncing surface.
Analysis
The American will ultimately control her own destiny in the final. When her heavy, deep groundstrokes are consistent, no one can overpower or out-hit her, besides Serena Williams. Strycova will be looking to approach the net to finish points there as she is aware of the dangers from both wings of the 21-year-old. The serve will definitely play a huge factor in the result, and it is crucial that the Czech can find and take opportunities on return.
Prediction
Yours truly anticipates a second career WTA title for the American. Even with a loss in the finals, she will enter the top ten after this week. But her power and serve will be too much for Strycova to handle.
Prediction: Keys in straight sets