NEW YORK, (Reuters) – A ruthless Madison Keys crushed CoCo Vandeweghe 6-1 6-2 on Thursday setting the stage for an all-American U.S. Open final that will see a new grand slam champion crowned.
Keys opponent in Saturday’s final will be Sloane Stephens, who beat ninth seed Venus Williams 6-1 0-6 7-5 in an earlier roller-coaster clash.
It will be the first time two American women have played for the title since 2002 when Venus lost 6-4 6-3 to her younger sister Serena Williams.
The final shapes up as an intriguing and unexpected one featuring two players who missed the start of the year as they recovered from injuries.
Keys, who was absent from the first two months recovering from wrist surgery, delivered an old fashion thrashing as she needed just 66 minutes to beat Vandeweghe, who also lost in the Australian Open semi-finals.
Keys come out swinging against her fellow power-hitter and broke Vandeweghe twice as she stormed into a 5-0 in a one-sided opening set that took only 23 minutes.
Keys continued to hammer away in the second set and the 22-year-old broke in the third game to ensure her momentum continued.
The only alarming moment came when Keys called for a medical time out while leading 6-1 4-1 and she walked off the Arthur Ashe Stadium court for treatment.
The 15th seed returned with her right thigh heavily taped but it had no effect on her dominance as she held serve and finished off a shell-shocked Vandeweghe in her next service game with an ace on the first match point.
