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Keys laments nerves, injury after US Open loss

Keys laments nerves, injury after US Open loss

Madison Keys lamented her nervousness after being crushed by Sloane Stephens in the US Open final on Saturday.

Stephens needed just 61 minutes to claim a 6-3 6-0 victory over Keys in a clash between two Americans in their first grand slam final.

Keys, 22, rued her inability to handle the occasion of a major decider on Arthur Ashe Stadium, after committing 30 unforced errors.

"I think at the end of a slam, whoever is still on the court is physically going to be feeling something," she told a news conference.

"I definitely think my play came down to nerves and all of that, and I just don't think I handled the occasion perfectly."

Keys needed treatment on her leg during a semi-final win over Coco Vandeweghe on Thursday.

The runner-up said she was impacted by the injury, but she paid tribute to Stephens.

"I don't think I was moving perfectly, but at the same time, I'm not going to take anything away from Sloane. I think she played really well," Keys said.

"I don't think I played great. I think that's kind of a combination for a disaster for me.

"I'm obviously not happy with how things went out there, but I still fought as hard as I could and I did everything that I could and came up short."