E-Paper
Madison Keys stuns Iga Swiatek to reach maiden Australian Open final; sets up Aryna Sabalenka clash
Madison Keys will face two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final on Saturday at the Melbourne Park.
Madison Keys, on Thursday, reached her maiden Australian Open final after she stunned world number 2 Iga Swiatek 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(8) on Rod Laver Arena at the end of a tense two hours and 32 minutes of clash. The No. 19 seed saved one match point en route to reaching her second Grand Slam final of her career, the previous being in the 2017 US Open.
Keys was on the brink of defeat when Swiatek served for the match at 6-5 in the third set and was a point away from ending it at 40-30. But the Pole sent a backhand into the net there, and then got broken by double-faulting, sending the match to a concluding first-to-10, win-by-two tiebreaker.
Earlier, Keys made a dominating start to the match as she broke Swiatek in the opening game -- the first time the Pole had dropped her serve since the first round - and thus began a roller coaster first set where both struggled for control. Three breaks each were exchanged before Swiatek converted her second set point after 49 minutes.
However, the world number two was far from convincing, and the second set saw a massive turnaround. Keys surged back in sizzling fashion, breaking Swiatek four times, unleashing three huge aces in one game, as she took it to a deciding third set where she saved a match point before finally getting over the line.
The American, who is guaranteed a return to the top 10 in WTA rankings, has now won 11 matches in a row since the start of the season, which includes her ninth career title in Adelaide a week before the Melbourne Slam. This is now her best-ever career run, bettering her previous record of a 10-match streak in 2022. She had won the Adelaide title then as well, before falling to Ashleigh Barty in the Australian Open semifinal.
Keys will face two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final on Saturday at the Melbourne Park. The Belarusian leads the head-to-head record 4-1, where all wins were on the hardcourt, two of which were at the Grand Slam. Keys' only win against the 26-year-old came in the second round of Berlin 2021 on grass.
Earlier in the evening, world no. 1 Sabalenka moved one win away from becoming the first woman since 1999 to win three consecutive Australian Open titles as she bounced back from a sluggish start to beat good friend Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2.
