Madison Keys vs Clara Tauson Prediction WTA Auckland Tennis Picks 1/3/25

Madison Keys and Clara Tauson meet in the quarterfinal of the 2025 Auckland Open on Friday, January 3, 2025. Here’s our Madison Keys vs Clara Tauson prediction. This article will also include a Madison Keys vs Clara Tauson pick.

Madison Keys Preview

Madison Keys is the top seed at the 2025 ASB Classic in Auckland competing in her first-ever main draw in this WTA 250 event in New Zealand.

She raced into her first WTA quarterfinal since June 2024 in Eastbourne. It’s also her fifth quarterfinal since the start of 2024, which in truth is still a low number considering Keys standards.

Keys won her first-round match in Auckland against Lucia Bronzetti 6-4, 6-4. In the second round, she beat Jaqueline Cristian 6-1, 6-2. 

In the victory over the Romanian, Keys needed 46  minutes in one of the shortest matches of this brand new season.

She landed 71% of first serves and won 83% of first-serve points (24/29). Keys won 42% of second-serve points (5/12) and saved one of two break points she faced in the match.

Overall, Keys held seven out of eight times. She had a return rating of 236 in the match, winning 58% of return points and converting five of 11 break points. 

Keys finished the match with 25 winners and 17 unforced errors.

Clara Tauson Preview

Clara Tauson is through to her first WTA quarterfinal since the Japan Open in Osaka last October. In the first round, she beat Lucrezia Stefanini in straight sets.

In the second round, Tauson got a measure of revenge on Sofia Kenin who beat her in Tokyo last season. This time, Tauson outlasted in an epic match lasting two hours and 39 minutes.

Tauson prevailed 4-6, 7-6, 7-6. She hit 25 aces and four double faults. 

The Dane landed 57% of first serves and won 83% of first-serve points. Tauson won 31% of second-serve points and saved eight of 13 break points.

Tauson won 38% of return points (46/120) and converted four of 11 break points. She finished the match with a remarkable 65 winners and 15 aces.

Madison Keys vs Clara Tauson Head-To-Head

• Keys and Tauson have not played against each other before, so this will be their first meeting.

Madison Keys vs Clara Tauson Prediction

What a match this promises to be as two seeds go toe to toe. Keys remains untested so far in Auckland with the top seed yet to drop a set and has not lost more than four games in a set.

But expect that to change on Friday as Tauson is slowly but steadily getting back to the upper tier of the WTA rankings. Now ranked in the Top 50, she’s showing her persistence and resilience, fighting off Sofia Kenin in an incredible second-round match. Tauson has won 10 of her last 14 matches on hard courts and hasn’t lost a straight-sets match since August 2024. The Tauson set handicap is the smart move here. And given the two players’ serving proficiency, the 15+ total aces in the match is another appealing market at evens.