MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — When Madison Keys finally completed his 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8) victory against No. 2 Iga Swiatek in a high intensity and high quality atmosphere Australian Open In the semi-final on Thursday evening, saving a match point in the process, the 29-year-old American crouched on the court and placed her hand on her white hat.
She had a hard time believing everything. The return. What Keys called an “extra dramatic finish.” The victory over Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion, who had produced the most dominant run at Melbourne Park in a dozen years. And now a chance for Keys to play in her second Grand Slam final, a long wait after being runner-up at the 2017 US Open.
“I always try to keep up with everything that’s going on,” said the 19th-seeded Keys, who will face No. 1. Aryna Sabalenkathe two-time defending champion, for the trophy on Saturday. “I felt like I was fighting to stay there. … There have been so many ups and downs and so many important points.”
Just to be sure, Keys asked if Swiatek was indeed one point away from victory, admitting that she really had no idea. Yes, Madison, Swiatek was close to ending things as he served at 6-5, 40-30, but missed a backhand into the net, then was ultimately broken by a double fault, sending the match in the first against 10, tiebreaker winning by two.
“I felt like I passed out at one point,” Keys said, “and I was out there running around.”
Whatever she did, it worked. Keys won more matches in the semifinals than the total of 14 Swiatek lost in her previous five matches over the past two weeks.
“It was a matter of one or two balls,” said Swiatek, who also lost in the Australian Open semifinals two years ago. “Madison was pretty brave.”
Sabalenka beat his good friend Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 earlier Thursday. Sabalenka, a 26-year-old Belarusian, could become the first woman since 1999 to perform a threesome.
“If she plays like that,” said Badosa, the 11th seed, “I mean, we can already give her the trophy.”
Keys might have something to say about that.
Yet Sabalenka won her first major championship at Melbourne Park in 2023and since then she has added two more – in Australia a year ago and at the US Open last September.
The last woman to reach three consecutive finals at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year was Serena Williams, who won two between 2015 and 2017. Martina Hingis was the last woman to win three consecutive titles in Melbourne, from 1997 to 1999.
” I have the chills. I’m so proud of myself,” said Sabalenka, whose 4-1 record against Keys includes a victory in the 2023 US Open semifinals.
Swiatek had not lost a single service game since the first round, but was broken three times by Keys in the first set alone and eight times in all.
This included each of Swiatek’s first two servings, making it clear from the start that this wouldn’t be her usual kind of day. And even though Swiatek was able to win the first set, she was overwhelmed in the second, trailing 5-0 before getting a match.
It was the Keys’ big hit at its finest. She turns 30 next month and, at the suggestion of her coach, former player Bjorn Fratangelo — who also happens to be her husband — decided to try a new racket this season, one effort at a time to help her to generate easy power but also to relieve some tension on his right shoulder.
It certainly paid off immediately. Keys is now on an 11-fight winning streak, including winning the title at a tune-up event in Adelaide.
She was good enough to get through this one, which was as tight as it could be.
“At the end, I feel like we were both dealing with nerves. … It’s just about who can get that last point and who can be a little better than the other,” Keys said. “And I’m glad it’s me.”
Sabalenka trailed 2-0, 40-love early, but quickly figured things out, especially once the retractable roof of Rod Laver Arena was closed in the first set due to a drizzle. She straightened out her shots and overpowered Badosa, who knocked out No. 3 Coco Gauff to reach her first major semifinal.
“She started being very, very aggressive,” said Badosa, who was considering retirement last year because of a stress fracture in her back. “Everything worked.”
Sabalenka and Badosa did their best to avoid eye contact for much of the evening, whether at the net for the draw or when passing each other during match changes.
Once their match was over, they met for a long hug.
During Sabalenka field maintenanceshe joked about taking Badosa – who was then sitting in a hallway with her head down – on a shopping trip to make up for it, paying for whatever the Spaniard wanted.
In recounting what Sabalenka said, Badosa noted, “It’s going to cost something really expensive.”
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis editor since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
