Madison Keys explained what it was like to be coached by her husband (Image: Eurosport)
Madison Keys opened up on the realities of being coached by her husband after moving into the last 16 at the .
The American defeated countrywoman 6-4 6-4 to book her spot in the second week as her partner and mentor watched on from the courtside coaching pod.
Keys and her long-time partner Bjorn Fratangelo tied the knot over the off-season and the world No. 14 explained what it was like to work with him professionally.
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Fratangelo previously reached the world’s top 100 but he became Keys’ stand-in coach in the summer of 2023 and has now made it his full-time job.
They finally got married at the end of 2024, with fellow tennis stars Jessica Pegula and Laura Robson in attendance, and Keys discussed married life after reaching the fourth round in Melbourne.
“So far, so good yeah. It’s been good. I’m a pro now, we’ve been married for about two months so if you need marital advice just call me,” she laughed.
“Feel like I’ve got it figured out so far.” While Keys feels confident in her marriage, there’s one thing she’s a little hesitant about when it comes to working with Fratangelo professionally.
Madison Keys is through to the second week of the Australian Open (Image: Getty)
Jelena Dokic, who was interviewing Keys, asked what it was like to be coached by her partner. The American was happy to share both the highs and the lows.
“It’s great that we get to see each other,” she replied. “He used to play as well so we would go long periods of time without seeing each other so it’s wonderful seeing him.”
But the 29-year-old is struggling to tell Fratangelo when he’s in the right. Laughing, she continued: “Having to admit that he’s right isn’t always my favourite thing and it happens a lot more than I want it to but I’m learning to just kind of nod and he knows that I’m saying he’s right!”
Dokic questioned whether Keys was happy to give some control to her partner but the world No. 14 didn’t seem convinced. “Yeah…” she trailed off, laughing.
The conversation quickly turned to another one of Keys’ interests – coffee. There’s been a lot of debate between players in Melbourne about the best city for coffee but the American was happy to let the locals take the top spot.
“I think Australia has some of the best coffee in the world. I feel like I’m yet to have a bad cup of coffee here. I’ve had lots of coffee all over the world, and I would say that Australia is the top of my list,” she declared.
“And I drink lots of it so I feel like I kind of know what I’m talking about! But I would say that there’s lots of spots in Melbourne that I go to and I think it’s probably my favourite.”
Keys will now face No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina in the fourth round.