“Couldn’t hear sh*t” – Madison Keys jokes about how advice from her fiance helped during noisy US Open QF against Marketa Vondrousova

After her US Open quarterfinal win over Marketa Vondrousova, Madison Keys stated that she ended up doing the opposite of what her fiance and coach Bjorn Fratangelo suggested, as she couldn't hear him at the noisy Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Keys registered a comfortable victory over Vondrousova to set up a final-four meeting with second seed Aryna Sabalenka. This will be the American's third appearance in a US Open semifinal. Previously, she reached the final and semifinal at Flushing Meadows in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

The 28-year-old enjoyed the crowd's support throughout the battle against her opponent. However, the loud noise at Arthur Ashe Stadium caused a slight problem for the American as she struggled to communicate with her team box.

"To be honest I couldn’t hear sh*t out here tonight, sorry," she said laughing during the on-court interview. "But yeah couldn’t hear anything you [pointing at Fratangelo] were saying something and I was like ‘Yeah sure, I got it'."

Keys further joked about going against what Fratangelo might have instructed her to do.

"I didn’t hear anything what he was saying. He was apparently telling me to go at her forehand and I was playing her backhand so there we go," Madison Keys added.

The World No. 17 successfully defended nine breaks on her serve and won a total of 69 points against Vondrousova, who was struggling with an injury that she sustained during her fourth-round match against Peyton Stearns. Keys reflected on her opponent's performance saying:

"I knew that Marketa was obviously gonna be a really tricky player. She gets so many balls back and puts you in so many difficult positions so I knew it probably wasn't going to be my cleanest match."

Madison Keys trails 1-2 in head-to-head against her next US Open opponent Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka greets Madison Keys: Wimbledon 2023

Madison Keys will look to go level with Aryna Sabalenka in their head-to-head count, which the latter leads 2-1, when she steps onto the court on Thursday, September 7, for a place in the 2023 US Open final.

Keys first played Sabalenka five years ago in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open. Sabalenka, then 20, defeated her higher-ranked opponent 6-3, 6-4.

Three years later, in 2021, the American got her revenge when she emerged victorious 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 in a Round of 16 match at the Berlin Open. The duo next met at this year's Wimbledon Championships last-eight stage, where Sabalenka registered another straight-sets victory over Keys.

During the on-court interview on Wednesday, the American suggested her fourth encounter against the 25-year-old is going to be flooded with longer rallies.

"Almost a completely different match tomorrow and just having played her at Wimbledon, she has been amazing this year. But it's going to be a lot of hard-hitting, a lot of long points. Honestly just going to try to buckle up and get as many balls as I can," Madison Keys said.