Keys saves match point, stuns Swiatek in Australian Open semifinal

No. 19 seed Madison Keys saved a match point to stun No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(8) in the Open semifinals of Australia, qualifying for the second Grand Slam final of his career after the 2017 U.S. Open.

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Keys had won just one of the previous five meetings with Swiatek, with all four losses coming in straight sets. The Pole served for a fifth victory at 6-5 in the deciding match, but missed a match point with a scored backhand. Keys trailed for most of the ensuing super-tiebreak and trailed 7-5, but found her best serves when she needed them to win the final three points, converting her first match point after 2 hours and 35 minutes.

The third set was so close that Keys didn’t know if she had faced a match point.

“It was so up and down, and there were so many big points and break chances that none of us had,” Keys told Casey Dellacqua during his on-court interview. “Did she have a match point? I feel like I passed out at one point and I was just running around. Just to be able to stay there, keep fighting, and then a 10-point tie-break for an extra-dramatic match finish.

The result extends Keys’ winning streak to 11 matches, following her ninth career Hologic WTA Tour title two weeks ago in Adelaide. Keys’ current streak alone now stands as the longest winning streak of his career, bettering his streak of 10 matches in 2022. Then, Keys also won Adelaide and reached the semi-finals of the Open from Australia, where she fell to Ashleigh Barty.

The American will face a similar dynamic in the final against No. 1 seed and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, who leads their head-to-head 4-1. This includes their four hard-court encounters and their two Grand Slam encounters. Keys’ only victory in the series was a 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 victory in the second round of Berlin 2021 on grass.

The loss marks Swiatek’s second loss in as many Australian Open semi-finals. In 2022, she falls at the same stage against another very successful American, Danielle Collins.

Third set twists and turns: The match opened with four consecutive breaks of serve, but it was Swiatek who won first. With her commitment and execution at the net, where she won five of seven points in the first game, particularly impressive, she took a 5-2 lead.

A backhand error cost him his first set point in the match and allowed Keys to level the match. Swiatek was able to regain control of the set 5-5 with a multitude of backhand winners in the final two games, but the stage was set for a breathtaking second set from her opponent. In it, Keys was only six points behind on serve, while Swiatek was up only six points behind hers. Indeed, Swiatek did not gain a single point on her second performance of the second set.

“Even though I lost the first set, I felt like I played better tennis at the end,” Keys said afterward. “Being able to run with that second set and really settle in, it was really nice.”

The momentum shifted back and forth throughout a tense deciding match, and ultimately it was Keys who was best able to shake off her missed opportunities. She missed two break points to lead 5-3, but recovered from a triple break point in the next game to go up 5-4.

Keys came within two points of victory in this match, but Swiatek escaped with a punishing forehand and a superb backhand pass. At 5-5, Keys dove at an unfortunate moment, committing a double fault, then launching into a poorly judged break point – which Swiatek easily repelled to go up 6-5.

Serving for the match, Swiatek wasted a match point with another ill-timed backhand error, then double-faulted to send the match into a super-tiebreak. There, Swiatek led most of the way and, at 7-7, hit the best shot of the match, a remarkable reflex volley winner off a Keys full forehand.

But even though the scoreboard, the momentum and their head-to-head history were all pointing toward Swiatek at this point, Keys went back to basics to pry him from his grasp. An ace was followed by a service winner that earned him his first match point, and in the ensuing rally it was Swiatek’s forehand that collapsed first.

More to come…