Madison Keys routs No. 8 Paula Badosa to advance to Australian Open quarterfinals

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Former U.S. Open finalist Madison Keys became the first woman to reach this year's Australian Open quarterfinals with a dominant 6-3, 6-1 victory over eighth-seeded Spanish player  Paula Badosa on Sunday at Rod Laver Arena.

Keys, a 26-year-old American player who defeated 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round, never looked troubled against the higher-ranked Badosa in their first career meeting, racking up 26 winners as Keys continued her unbeaten start to the year.

Keys, who claimed her sixth career title last week in Adelaide, raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first set before consolidating her advantage to close out the first set in 32 minutes.

The second set was even more one-sided for the unseeded Keys, breaking Badosa in the first, third, fifth and seventh games to wrap up the win in 1 hour, 9 minutes and earn her first quarterfinal berth in Australia since 2018.

The 24-year-old Badosa, who also was unbeaten this year after winning the Sydney International earlier this month, made 10 double faults and lost her service game five times.

Keys moves on to Tuesday's quarterfinals, where she will play French Open champion  Barbora Krejcikova, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in their fourth-round match at Rod Laver Arena.

The fourth-seeded Krejcikova needed only 85 minutes to beat the 2012 and 2013 champion and progress to her third quarterfinal in four Grand Slams events.Azarenka, seeded 24th, made 28 unforced errors and dropped five service games.

Krejcikova broke Azarenka's serve in the third game and again in the seventh to take control of the first set. She broke again the opening game of the second set and then was rarely troubled in closing out as temperatures approached 34 Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit). 

Later Sunday, top-ranked Ashleigh Barty will continue her bid to break a long Australian Open drought when she plays No. 60-ranked Amanda Anisimova. Barty is aiming to be the first Australian woman to win the championship here since 1978.

Anisimova, 20, saved two match points in a stunning upset of defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.