MELBOURNE – American Madison Keys declared herself 100 percent fit for a tilt at the Australian Open title after crushing local wildcard Destanee Aiava 6-2, 6-2 to reach the second round on Monday.
The 23-year-old was a consistent performer at Grand Slams last year, reaching the semis at the French and US Open, as well as the quarter-finals in Melbourne.
She is looking to improve on her best performance at the Australian Open, a semi-final appearance against eventual champion Serena Williams in 2015.
Keys said she had skipped warm-up tournaments to ensure she had no fitness problems.
“I was having issues with my knee at the end of the year and was running out of time and wouldn't be ready for Brisbane, so I knew I wanted to be 100 percent ready for here,” she said.
“There's obviously things that I want to work on, overall just being a more solid tennis player.”
Destanee Aiava and Madison Keys leave the court after their match on day two of the Australian Open. Photo: Hamish Blair/EPA
She will next play either France's Pauline Parmentier or Russia's Anastasia Potapova.