5 hours ago
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Deep in the final set of one of the most extraordinary matches of her career, the violent, destructive ball striking of Madison Keys was still in full flow. From a set down, Keys had dragged herself back into the match by brutalising every tennis ball in sight. Then she had shown her gritty resilience throughout a desperately tight third set. Whenever Iga Swiatek tried to pull away, Keys somehow forced her way back in.
One of the enduring questions surrounding Keys’ career has been whether she possesses the killer instinct and nerve to maintain her supreme shot-making under pressure in the biggest matches of her career. The answer has often been negative, but here Keys offered a supreme demonstration of her toughness as she saved a match point before emerging victorious in an instant classic, defeating a gritty Iga Swiatek to reach her first Australian Open final with a 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (8) win over the No 2 seed.
With one of the greatest victories of her 16-year career, Keys will contest the second grand slam final of her career against Aryna Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion and No 1 seed. Keys’ only other grand slam final came at the US Open in 2017, when she lost to her friend Sloane Stephens. Having triumphed at the Adelaide Open in the week before the Australian Open, Keys is now on an 11-match winning streak. Swiatek’s defeat means that Sabalenka will hold on to her No 1 ranking after the tournament.
It was always clear that Keys could seriously challenge Swiatek. She is one of the best servers in the world and one of the biggest ball strikers the sport has ever seen. As she showed when she defeated Swiatek on the lightning-fast hard courts of Cincinnati in 2022, Keys perfectly fits the profile of the type of player that has historically had success against Swiatek. She has the raw firepower to rush the Swiatek forehand and pummel her vulnerable second serve, while a supreme serving day can keep Swiatek’s return of serve at bay.
After allowing her first five opponents just 14 games between them, the nerves exhibited by Swiatek in the opening games reflected Keys’ quality. After a sloppy start, Swiatek’s defence and ability to flip points from defence to attack frustrated Keys as Swiatek established a 5-2 lead.
Although the pair had started outdoors in cool, windy evening conditions, a spot of drizzling rain forced the organisers to close the roof. Without the elements to battle, Keys began to swing with total confidence and freedom. After dragging Swiatek back to 5-5, though, Keys was punished for her poor serving game at 5-6 as Swiatek smothered her second serve throughout.
Still, Keys continued to strike the ball spectacularly throughout the second set, robbing time from Swiatek with the sheer brutality of her shotmaking off both groundstrokes. As Keys continued to rack up games, she even opened up her service game at 4-0 with three consecutive aces. It did not take long for her to close out against an increasingly tense Swiatek.
With a grand slam final on the line and Keys continuing to laser winners from all parts of the court, Swiatek dug deep at the beginning of the third set as she held onto her serve and tried to pressure Keys’ service games. Keys responded brilliantly, eviscerating forehands and hitting herself out of danger in service games throughout the third set before generating two break points at 4-3, 15-40. After missing both break points, Keys produced a service hold for the ages, recovering from 0-40 down and saving four break points in the game to hold for 5-4.
From 4-5 down, though, serving to stay in the tournament, Swiatek held serve before a tired, errant service game from Keys yielded the first break of the set. Swiatek confidently stepped up to the baseline to serve out the match and victory was in sight as she dragged herself to match point at 6-5. Instead, down match point, Keys forced a backhand error from Swiatek with a brilliant return of serve to stay alive. After pulling herself into a final set tiebreak, Keys maintained her fearless aggression until the bitter end as she closed out an incredible performance with an unforgettable win.
