Madison Keys books her place in the Australian Open final following rollercoaster three-set thriller against Iga Swiatek
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Madison Keys produced one of the greatest performances of her career to upset world No2 Iga Swiatek and reach her second Grand Slam final. Ever since turning pro aged just 14 and becoming one of the youngest ever players to win a WTA-level match, Keys has been reckoned to have the talent to win a major title.
That pressure has looked like a heavy burden to bear at times in an excellent career which has never quite touched greatness. But after saving a match point to beat Swiatek 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 she has another chance to become a Grand Slam champion, in Saturday’s final against Aryna Sabalenka, who beat her close friend Paula Badosa in the earlier semi-final.
Keys’ last major final was at the US Open in 2017, when she never really showed up against fellow American Sloane Stephens. But the 29-year-old spoke after her quarter-final win about how she has ceased to view a Grand Slam title as the holy grail without which she cannot be satisfied.
‘I'm starting to appreciate my career for what it has been, and it doesn't have to have a Grand Slam in order for me to look at it and say, I've done a really good job,’ she said. ‘While that's obviously still the goal, there have been periods of my career where it felt like if I didn't win one, then I hadn't done enough, I didn't live up to my potential.
‘It took a lot of the fun out of the game and there were times when it felt paralyzing.’. Keys was the polar opposite of paralysed here. She was loose and relaxed and potent. She threw everything she had at Swiatek and held her nerve in the vital moments - most strikingly when holding from 0-40 down at 4-4 in the deciding set.
