Former US Open finalist Madison Keys has prepared for the Australian Open by securing her first tournament win in three years at the Adelaide International 2.
The American was fast out of the block and rarely gave up, defeating country woman Alison Riske 6-1 6-2 in the final.
87 in the world after injuries and apathetic form in recent years, Keys relied on his low ranking with a performance of 68 minutes.
Against Riske, he showed off the tools that brought him to world No 7 in 2016, including heavy forehands and crunching serves.
Looking more fit than she has been in the past few seasons, Keys attacked tennis with good pace through the first set in 29 minutes with two breaks of serve.
Riske, who famously defeated Ash Barty at Wimbledon in a fourth-round match in 2019 when the Australian was eyeing a double with the French Open, lost his first service game of the second set to give Keys the full advantage .
The world number 57 played a few more games but Keys effectively leveled things up with another break before serving the match.
Keys said she is less concerned about her place in women's tennis and more about the quality of her game.
"I feel like if I can't keep too busy with my rankings or winning a match, all the little things that go into it, defending points, all that, it just takes care of itself," he said. .
"You can continue to gain more confidence by winning matches but not focusing on winning matches."
Keys will now make a tough Open first-round rivalry for another compatriot, world number 12 Sofia Kenin.
2020 Australian Open champion Kenin has already had a rough start to the year, being knocked out by Barty in the Adelaide quarterfinals last week and losing to Daria Kasatkina in Sydney.
Riske meets Donna Vekic in the first round at Melbourne Park.