By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, January 25, 2025
A courageous Madison Keys dethroned two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in an Australian Open final classic.
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Grand Slam final ghosts once haunted Madison Keys’ head.
Facing crackling third-set pressure tonight, Keys beat back stress and knocked out world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka capturing her maiden major championship in an Australian Open final classic.
Happy Warrior: Keys Saves Match Point, Shocks Swiatek for Maiden AO Final
A courageous Keys dethroned two-time defending champion Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in an inspirational AO showdown pitting premier power players that escalated into stunning slugfest on Rod Laver Arena.
The 19th-seeded Keys drilled a diagonal forehand winner closing the first women’s major final to go to 5-all in the decider since Serena Williams edged Victoria Azarenka in the 2012 US Open final.
An ecstatic Keys shed tears of joy then embraced her husband and coach, Bjorn Fratangelo to realize a career dream.
Mad World: Keys Stops Svitolina for Third AO Semifinal
In a magical Melbourne run, newlywed Keys toppled the world No. 1 and world No. 2 back-to-back, defeating three Grand Slam champions in fierce three-setters along the way to capture her first Grand Slam crown.
In her 46th major appearance, eight years after her jittery 6-3, 6-0 loss to buddy Sloane Stephens in the 2017 US Open final, Keys delivered one of the most dynamic performances of her career to complete her major quest.
Twenty-five Grand Slams, a nagging right shoulder injury, a left hamstring issue, stretches of severe self-doubt and eight years have passed since Keys froze against Stephens in Flushing Meadows.
When her moment of truth came arrived in Melbourne Park, Keys was fire.
"It's definitely not the result I wanted to have. But I don't know, I think she just stepped in and play, like, nothing to lose at the end and was just going for her shots," Sabalenka told the media in Melbourne. "At that moment I went in, so was great tennis.
"She fight throughout the tournament. She had a lot of difficult matches. She fought for it. In the final, she was playing really aggressively."
Once derided as "too nice", "too nervous" and "too fragile" to ever win a Slam, Keys showed grit, guts and bravery booming drives with menacing intent at crunch time.
Unleashing a flurry of forehands, Keys closed two hour and two minute win with a break wining exactly one more point (92 to 91) than Sabalenka.
“I have wanted this for so long and I have been in one other Grand Slam final and it did not go my way and I didn’t know if I was ever going to get back to this position to try to win a trophy again,” said Keys, who was near tears in the trophy presentation. “And my team believed in me every step of the way.
“So thank you so much they believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and helped me every step of the way. Last year was really tough with some bad injuries and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it and to be able to do it with my husband who is kind of dazed and focused over there I love you so much.”
A fighter to the finish, Keys won three five-setters to take the title raising her record to a WTA-best 14-1 on the season, including an 8-0 mark in three-setters.
Keys snapped Sabalenka’s 27-match AO winning streak, denying the Belarusian’s bid to become the first woman since legendary Hall of Famer Martina Hingis won three in a row from 1997-1999.
The world No. 1 smashed her Wilson Blade to the court, but Sabalenka should hold her head high. She didn’t lose her crown, Keys took it from her.
“Madison, wow what a tournament,” Sabalenka said. “You’ve been fighting really hard to get this trophy . You crushed this tonight.
“Congrats tonight you and your team really well deserved. Enjoy the celebration and enjoy the really fun part…. Even though I didn’t get it this year, I’ll come back stronger and I’ll do my best next year.”
Think about what Keys achieved in this glorious run.
A few months after walking down the aisle and marrying long-time partner Fratangelo in a Charleston wedding, Keys turned Melbourne Park into a launching pad. Keys conquered compatriot and 2022 finalist Danielle Collins, fought off Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina in the fourth round, battled by former Top 10 standout Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, out-dueled world No. 2 and five-time major champion Iga Swiatek in an epic semifinal.
Tonight, Keys stood toe-to-toe with the two-time champion and delivered the knockout blow with a ferocious forehand.
"I mean, if she can play consistently like that, I mean, it's not much you can do," Sabalenka said. "I mean, of course, I know how to play against her, but in this match I couldn't really do my stuff.
"She just played incredible. It seems like she was overhitting everything. The depths of the balls were really crazy. I was trying my best. Obviously didn't work well."
Eight years after bowing to buddy Sloane Stephens in the 2017 US Open final, Keys won the toss, elected to receive and stamped an ideal start.
Exploiting a couple of double faults from the champion, Keys banged a backhand off the baseline to set up a forehand strike breaking at 30. Keys backed up the break at 30 for a 2-0 lead.
Power-based baseliners are two of the biggest hitters in the sport, but Keys’ was cracking her forehand with more conviction.
Rapping a running forehand pass, Keys gained another break point when Sabalenka tripped her third double fault of the set. On the stretch, Keys made the top seed play one more ball and Sabalenka botched a drop shot into net.
A confident Keys had the double break and a 4-1 lead.
In a tour de force game, Keys slid a backhand drop shot winner then slid her second ace for the love hold and a 5-1 advantage just 21 minutes into the match.
On a breezy evening, a shaky Sabalenka was chasing her high ball toss, playing quickly and casting nervous glances at her box.
Still, Sabalenka dug in and denied a set point with a wide serve, eventually holding in the seventh game.
Nerves spiked on both sides of the net. Keys served for it at 5-2, but committed three wild unforced errors, donating the break back.
The Keys return was rattling Sabalenka into miscues. Sabalenka spit up her fourth double fault—the most doubles she’d committed in any of her seven matches in this fortnight—to hand the American a second set point.
Credit Keys for stepping up and bolting her backhand down the line sealing one of her best sets of the tournament in 35 minutes. Sabalenka won only 43 percent of her first-serve points, while Keys served 86 percent, won 12 of 19 first-serve points, pumped a pair of aces and did not double fault in that strong set.
A formidable front-runner, Keys owned a 9-0 record in Tour-level finals when winning the first set.
Digging in, Keys denied a couple of break points—benefitting from Sabalenka netting a pair of relatively routine forehand passes—holding to start the second set.
Working the American’s weaker backhand wing, Sabalenka was dialing in her own two-hander. A jolting drive caused Keys to miss a backhand so badly she nearly nailed the ball kid stationed beneath the chair umpire’s seat. Sabalenka scalded a backhand down the line breaking with a bolt for a 2-1 second-set lead.
Targeting the Keys two-hander and playing with more patience in crosscourt exchanges, Sabalenka found her range and rhythm. From love-30 down in the fourth game, Sabalenka surged through eight of the next nine points snatching a 4-1 double-break lead.
The defending champion staved off three break points winning her fifth consecutive game before Keys, who looked to be lunging for her two-hander at times, stopped her slide and held.
On her third set point, Sabalenka ended the set when Keys flew a forehand long.
The two-time defending champion made three significant changes to turn the tide. Sabalenka sharpened her serve, serving 83 percent in the set, she made Keys hit more backhands on the move and she deployed the drop shot brilliantly exposing the tiring American’s movement.
For the fifth time in the last eight years, the AO women’s final went the distance.
Playing with taping wrapping her left thigh, Keys faced the world No. 1 and a glaring question. Playing her eighth three-setter of the season, Keys was 7-0 going the distance, including physical three-set wins over No. 2 Iga Swiatek, former Top 10 player Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals and a three-set upset of former Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina in the fourth round.
Would those battles empower Keys or exhaust her for this final fight?
From love-30 down, Keys kept calm holding for a 2-1 lead with a clenched fist toward coach and husband Bjorn Fratangelo, who was leaning forward in the coaching pod pumping his fist right back.
Sabalenka surged through 12 of her first 14 service points in the decider. A leaping Keys dabbed a dazzling high backhand volley that helped her hold for 3-2.
The beauty of this decider: both women were ripping the ball, using the entire court at times and competing with conviction. Sabalenka stamped her second straight love hold for 4-all.
Keys came through with a solid hold for 5-4 shifting pressure squarely on the two-time defending champion’s shoulders.
Deadlocked 5-all, 30-all, Keys brought brilliance.
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Challenging the champ with a wide second serve, Keys pounced from a crouch and redirected an astonishing forehand winner down the line. Keys followed that fantastic strike flashing a diagonal forehand winner holding with a shout for 6-5.
"I really just kept telling myself just try to keep the score close, keep the pressure on her and in the last game I thought just go for it," Keys told ESPN's Kris Budden afterward. "I mean worst case [scenario] 10-point tiebreaker.
"Might as well just go for it and see what happens."
Seeing the finish line, Keys flew through it finishing with a flurry of forehands and the shout of a champion.
Clutching the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup like a long-lost friend, Keys said releasing expectations really inspired her resilient rise to the title.
"I think I’ve done a lot of work to no longer need this," Keys told ESPN's Kris Budden. "I really wanted this, but it was no longer the thing that was going to define me.
"Kind of letting go of that burden I kind of finally gave myself the ability to actually play for it."
On a thrilling Melbourne night, Keys stepped up and seized the moment in a statement victory.