Underdog Madison Keys upset Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the Australian Open final on Saturday to win her first Grand Slam crown at the age of 29. The American Keys ended world number one Sabalenka’s dream of becoming the first woman for 26 years to win a third successive Melbourne Park singles crown. Keys yelled in delight and wiped away tears on securing the title after withstanding a fierce fightback from the Belarusian two-time defending champion. Sabalenka, the 2023 and 2024 champion, buried her head in a towel after her 20-match win streak at Melbourne Park was ended.
For 19th-seeded Keys it was the culmination of a 15-year journey from teenage prodigy to major winner.
The American had been tipped as a future world number one after winning her maiden WTA Tour match at the age of 14.
She made her first major semi-final at Melbourne Park 10 years ago as a 19-year-old but a decade on she can finally call herself a Grand Slam champion.
Keys becomes the fourth oldest first-time winner of a major since the Open Era began in 1968.
It was Keys who came out of the blocks in controlled fashion in just her second Grand Slam final.
Keys was playing with her left thigh strapped but was not hampered as she played exemplary tennis to put Sabalenka under pressure.
With the help of two Sabalenka double faults, Keys secured an immediate break.
Sabalenka could not make any inroads on Keys, who landed 86 percent of her first serves in the set.
A third double fault helped Keys unlock a further break and race into a 5-1 lead.
Sabalenka saved set point and then clawed back one of the breaks. But her error count was rising and Keys, who smacked 11 winners to four, secured the first set in 35 minutes.
Sabalenka, renowned for her guts and determination, had similarly lost the first set in the 2023 final against Elena Rybakina before going on to win.
Perhaps more significantly, Sabalenka had lost the first set 6-0 to Keys in the 2023 US Open semi-final before fighting back to reach the final.
That result may have been preying on both players’ minds as the Belarusian began to flip the script in the second set, breaking in the third game and moving ahead 3-1.
Another break followed on a brilliant Sabalenka cross-court pass and she levelled the match after an hour and 20 minutes on court.
Sabalenka by now was timing the ball much better and a younger Keys might have buckled.
But this mature version of Keys, who battled all the way to beat Iga Swiatek in a 10-point final set tiebreak in the semi-finals, is made of sterner stuff.
She held from 0-30 in the third game to keep it on serve as the final set became a big-hitting baseline war with no holding back from either player.
It stayed that way until 5-6 when Sabalenka served to take it to a final set tiebreak.
Keys brought up two match points and secured the title on the second with her 29th winner after 2hr 2min.
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