It didn’t matter to Madison Keys how she got the job done Monday at the BNP Paribas Open. All that mattered was that she won.

Make that won again.

The Australian Open champion extended her winning streak to 14 matches thanks to a topsy-turvy 6-2, 6-7 (8), 6-4 victory over a player who has troubled her in the past, Elise Mertens. 

Keys originally led by a set and 5-3 at Stadium 2 and had two match points on her own serve in the ninth game to advance to the fourth round.

They slipped away. She saw two more match points dissipate in the tiebreak.

But the Florida resident recovered, improving her third-set record this year to 9-0.

“It’s always tough when you feel like you’re not playing your best tennis against someone who is really tricky and with whom you’ve had some tough matches in the past,” Keys said on court afterwards. “So it was definitely kind of frustrating out there today. Lots of ups and downs.

“But to be able to figure it out and get the win is all it takes sometimes and it’s just about surviving.”

The 28th-ranked Mertens was the last player to beat Keys at a major at last year’s US Open and had won two in a row against her overall.

In New York, Keys struck 69 unforced errors, a far cry from her outings in Australia.

Mertens — who upended Naomi Osaka last year in the desert — might be wondering how the match would have materialized had she broken in the first set when holding a total of six break points.

Keys grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second set on her seventh break point of the game, slapping a forehand return winner after missing several returns. She raised her arms in joy.

The match swung heavily in her favor — but wasn’t over.

The gritty Mertens — a three-time doubles winner in the desert — made it 3-3 and almost broke for 4-3. Keys did break for 5-3, helped by a dead net cord winner.

Putting the match to bed proved difficult for the newly turned 30-year-old. Keys completely lost rhythm on her serve, hitting four double faults. 

It carried over into the tiebreak, when Keys let slip a two mini-break advantage at 5-2. She never trailed in the third set, though, moving in front 4-3 and saving yet more break points to get to 5-3.

She indeed showed her hunger to get the win and said afterwards that winning a major hasn’t diminished her motivation.

Indian Wells marked her first event since beating Aryna Sabalenka in January’s thrilling finale in Melbourne.

“It’s been a little bit interesting to kind of get back on the court but I think it’s been a little bit of very, very excited to be back and playing tennis and wanting to win some more and also having more expectations and trying to deal with that myself and kind of expecting a lot from myself every day,” said Keys.

“Just trying to keep that momentum going and win as many matches as I can,” she later said.

Later in the afternoon at Stadium 1, Coco Gauff defeated two-time finalist Maria Sakkari 7-6 (1), 6-2 in a rematch of last year’s rain affected semifinal that Sakkari won.

Rain was nowhere to be found Monday, with the stadium bathed in sunshine. The first set proved pivotal. Gauff erred on a set point with a backhand miscue at 5-4 but stepped it up in the tiebreak. Just like in Keys’ match, there was match point drama, though, as Gauff needed six match points to officially advance.

And a round after hitting 21 double faults, she cut the number, though at nine, it was likely more than she hoped for. She became the youngest woman to reach the Round of 16 in three straight years since Caroline Wozniacki from 2008-11.

Sabalenka improved to 3-0 against Italian Lucia Bronzetti to cap play in the afternoon session at Stadium 1.

The World No. 1 hit 24 winners to just 17 unforced errors and excluding a 2-0 deficit in the second set, largely cruised in the 6-1, 6-2 result.

Belinda Bencic set up a meeting with Gauff. The new mom continues to flourish in her comeback, taking out 13th seed Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-4 on her 28th birthday.
Bencic raced to victory, winning 16 of the final 17 points.

Emma Navarro saved a pair of match points against Sorana Cirstea in the second round but last year’s quarterfinalist couldn’t come back against Donna Vekic.

The Olympic silver medalist improved to 2-0 against Navarro courtesy of a 7-6 (5), 6-1 win in the night session at Stadium 2. Both players pounded balls hard and through the middle to create opportunities and feasted on second serves.

Vekic led by a break four times in the first set but the 10th seed broke back every time.
In the tiebreak, the New York-born and Charleston raised Navarro led 2-0 but then crucially erred on a volley after working the point in her favor. That began the turnaround and the 19th seed gained a further edge by saving break points to start the second.

The Croatian, who next plays Keys, had lost six straight matches in Indian Wells heading into the 2025 edition. Now that’s behind her.