Charleston, SC (SportsNetwork.com) - Rising American star Madison Keys was an easy quarterfinal winner Friday at the Family Circle Cup tennis event.
The seventh-seeded 20-year-old Illinois native blew away fellow American Lauren Davis 6-2, 6-2 in 73 minutes on the clay courts at Family Circle Tennis Center.
Keys routinely pounded serves in excess of 110 mph at Davis and, if the ball was returned, shot back groundstrokes that appeared even faster.
The 21-year-old Ohio native Davis stunned top-seeded Canadian star Genie Bouchard in straight sets here on Wednesday.
The Australian Open semifinalist Keys' semifinal opponent on Saturday will be Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka, who upset fourth-seeded former French Open runner-up Sara Errani 6-2, 6-4.
The last match of the night saw fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber take down 13th- seeded Irina-Camelia Begu 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4). Kerber's opponent in the semifinals will be third-seeded Andrea Petkovic, who rallied from a first-set loss to down Danka Kovinic, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Petkovic defeated Slovak Jana Cepelova in last year's Family Circle finale.
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