American Madison Keys retires from darkness-delayed match with injury

LONDON -- Madison Keys retired with a left leg injury before resuming her third-round match at Wimbledon on Monday. The 19-year-old American suffered an adductor strain in the second set against Yaroslava Shvedova on Saturday evening, in a match that was eventually suspended for light with Shvedova leading 7-6, 6-6. 

"Middle of the second set, I kind of felt something a little bit," Keys said. "I was thinking, you know, Try to get through the set, maybe it could finish, have the next day to recover, try to get better. Then I think it was the like 3-2 game, I was serving. I just felt it really go. After that it was pretty painful."

Keys was in tears by the time play was finally called due to darkness and needed assistance from the tournament trainer to get back to the locker room. She had a day of rest on Sunday but couldn't get through her warm-up this morning and was warned that the injury could get worse if she continued to play on it.

"I had so much tape on me I could barely walk," she said. "It just wasn't happening."

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It's a disappointing end to what was a promising grass-court season for Keys, who beat two top-10 players en route to her first WTA title the week before Wimbledon in Eastbourne. Her success over the last two weeks should move the teenager into the top 30 for the first time. It's been a long trek through Europe and England for Keys, who has been away from home since the beginning of May. Her first order of business when she returns home?

"I think I'm going to have to stop by McDonald's and get a large sweet tea," she said. "I think it is the biggest thing I miss when I'm here. I visit it so much I know it's exactly $1.06 for a large sweet tea."

Keys' next tournament is the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. No. 65 Shvedova will play either Sabine Lisicki or Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round.

The match was suspended at 9:37 p.m. on Saturday, just one minute shy of the latest stoppage in Wimbledon history on the outside courts; just 24 hours earlier, No. 6 Tomas Berdych lost to Marin Cilic at 9:38 p.m. Keys and Shvedova were told to continue playing despite the fact that the match on No. 1 Court was suspended nearly 40 minutes earlier.

"I believe she said something about it getting darker after the first set," Keys said. "I mentioned something. And then again I mentioned something at 5‑4. She said we could play a little bit longer. Then at 6-5 she told me it had to be on an even game, so we just played the one more game."

Berdych complained after his loss that matches should be suspended when it's too dark to use Hawk-Eye. Keys didn't disagree.

"I think the umpires, the lines judges were having a hard time making the best calls," she said. "I think one of them commented that he didn't even know because it was so dark."