Madison Keys held her nerve to take down Iga Swiatek in the second Australian Open semi-final to set up the clash with Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
The 19th seed went into the match as a huge underdog. Iga Swiatek’s accolades speak for themselves and when she’s in the form that she was in she’s next to unstoppable.
This will be the American’s second ever grand slam final and first ever Australian Open final. Keys has now extended her win streak to eleven matches in a row and will be looking to make it one more for her maiden major title.
Prior to the clash, Swiatek was yet to lose a set in Melbourne, making it a fine run to the semi-finals. Keys shocked everyone in the second set, demolishing Swiatek 6-1 and showing that she meant business.
Match Summary
Madison Keys won the match 5-7 6-1 7-6 (8) to take her into her first ever Australian Open final.
Both players struggled holding serve in the first set, with seven breaks of serve between the two.
The Pole was the one to remain composed when needed however, breaking Keys again and then holding serve to take the first set 7-5.
The second set was a complete contrast to the first; Keys was ripping through Swiatek’s game with some impressive ball striking and consistent serving. The American won five games in a row in this set for it to conclude at 6-1.
Both players gave it their all in the final set and delivered an exhilarating display. To contrast to the first set, both players were holding their serve well and neither looked to crack.
Swiatek eventually broke Keys’ serve to take her to 6-5 and if you’d asked anyone watching they’d tell you the match was done there and then.
Keys defied Swiatek’s momentum and broke immediately back to take the match to a ten point tiebreak.
The second seed was ahead for most of the tiebreak, having converted mini-breaks throughout. Keys managed to win three points consecutively from 7-8 down to eventually winning 10-8 to take her into her first AO final.
Keys will now face world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the final, who dispatched 11th seed Paula Badosa 6-4 6-2 in the other semi-final.
The Belarusian is the definite favourite. If she is to win, it will be her 21st consecutive victory at the AO and her third consecutive title.
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