Madison Keys beat four-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in a deciding tie-break to edge a thrilling semi-final clash and book a meeting with world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Australian Open on Saturday.
Keys, seeded 19th, came through 5-7 6-1 7-6 (10-8) in the two-hour-and-35-minute epic against the world No 2, saving a match point along the way before clinching a memorable victory 10 minutes past midnight.
Swiatek, who had dropped only 14 games through her run to the semi-finals in Melbourne, quickly took control of the contest as she broke Keys three straight times to start – making amends for losing her own serve on a couple of occasions.
But, the first sign of trouble for the Pole came when she missed a backhand down the line on set point for yet another break. Instead, Keys held for the first time and immediately broke Swiatek in the subsequent game to restore parity.
Swiatek did eventually close out the set, gleefully snapping up her second set point opportunity off the Keys serve to take the opener 7-5 and avoid the need for a tie-breaker.
World No 2 Iga Swiatek took the opening set of her semi-final against Madison Keys
But far from wilting to a straight-sets defeat, Keys came roaring back into the match in a second set she’d take 6-1 – Swiatek only just avoiding being ‘bageled’ for the first time since 2021.
It was Keys, a US Open finalist in 2017, looking the stronger, dictating the play – as Swiatek usually does so succesfully – with a combination of fearsome groundstrokes and fine footwork.
Swiatek, in turn, looked increasingly tentative and agitated and, after a cagey start to the third set, she looked in trouble as Keys eked out two break points at 4-3 up.
But the four-time Grand Slam champion showed all her resolve to save both, take the game, and then race into a 0-40 lead on Keys’ serve for three break points of her own – only for her fired-up opponent to come out swinging and save all three as she again nudge ahead in the decider.
Swiatek would again go 0-40 up in Keys’ next service game and, after the American again battled back to save the first two, Swiatek would this time snap up the third for what appeared to be the crucial break.
Not so. Keys saved a match point in the subsequent game before a nervy Swiatek double-fault sent the contest into a 10-point tie-break decider, from which Keys would ultimately emerge victorious – despite trailing for most of it.
Sabalenka into final as she eyes third-straight title
Sabalenka booked her passage through to the Australian Open final for a third year in succession, producing a dominant 6-4 6-2 victory over Paula Badosa.
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Highlights of Aryna Sabalenka against Paula Badosa from the semi-final of the Australian Open
The 2023 and 2024 champion in Melbourne, Sabalenka looked in ominous form on the Rod Laver Arena in a crushing win versus Spain’s Badosa.
In a meeting of two great friends off the court, Badosa actually broke Sabalenka first to move 2-0 ahead in the opening set as the top seed made a host of unforced errors.
From that point, Sabalenka exploded into life, however, with her power coming to the fore and dominating most facets as she rattled off four games in succession to break Badosa twice and lead 4-2 – the first break coming from 40-0 down and the second taken at the fourth attempt within a marathon game.
Badosa did manage to hold twice more in the set, falling back on her own strong serve, but did not come close to troubling Sabalenka’s as the latter clinched the opening set 6-4 via an ace.
Into the second, Sabalenka broke Badosa by the third game as the Spaniard double-faulted twice and appeared to start losing belief.
Sabalenka’s controlled power left Badosa powerless to reply as she was broken again despite appearing on top in her next service game, falling 5-1 behind when Sabalenka held again.
Serving to remain in the semi-final, Badosa produced strong serves and a gorgeous backhand winner to remain in the match, but succeeded only in delaying the inevitable as Sabalenka proved far too strong in the next game to wrap things up.
Sabalenka has ‘goosebumps’ over winning three in a row
“I have goosebumps,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview on the possibility of winning a third-straight Australian Open. “I’m so proud of myself and my team to put ourselves in such a situation.
“It’s a privilege. If I’m able to put my name in history, it will mean a lot – it will mean the world to me. I couldn’t even dream about that.
“I just wanted to win at least one Grand Slam. To have this opportunity is incredible. I’m going to go out and give everything I have in the final.”
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