Madison Keys is into the Australian Open final after beating Iga Swiatek (Image: Getty)
Australian Open finalist Madison Keys broke down into tears when exiting the 2023 US Open at the semi-final stage, maybe fearing she’d never get another shot at winning a major. But Keys bested WTA No.2 over three sets on Thursday to with Aryna Sabalenka.
The 29-year-old has enjoyed a successful but tough tournament in so far, ousting top-10 seeds , Elena Rybakina and No.28 seed Elina Svitolina before her matchup with five-time major champion Swiatek. Yet, being an underdog didn’t hamper her.
She bounced back from losing the first set 7-5 to rattle off a 6-1 set win and prevail 7-6 in a third set 10-8 tiebreak to secure her spot in Saturday’s final. However, back in 2023, when the same opponent she’ll face in Rod Laver Arena at the weekend dumped her out of the US Open, Keys’ tears indicated she thought the days of her reaching major finals may have been over.
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The gap between Keys’ first major final, which came in New York in 2017, and her current feat is the longest in the Open Era, putting into scale her agony.
Keys had also lost five of her previous six semi-finals she’d been a part of before beating her Polish opponent, including the 2023 heartbreak – in which she stunned Sabalenka by taking the first set 6-0 before losing both the second and third in gruelling tiebreaks.
When asked by a reporter at her post-match press conference what was next for her after such gut-wrenching results, Keys understandably became emotional at the gravity of the situation, perhaps fearing that getting to this stage again after all of her previous Grand Slam disappointments would be difficult.
Madison Keys was in tears during her press conference after her loss to Aryna Sabalenka:“I think everyone at the start of the tournament would be really excited to be in the semis. Right now, it sucks. I just think being able to take this & turn it into a positive is really…
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter)
“I think everyone at the start of the tournament would be really, really excited to be in the semi,” Keys admitted at Flushing Meadows two years ago, slowly breaking down into tears.
“Right now, it sucks. But, yeah, I just think being able to take this and turn it into a positive is really possible…” Keys tailed off, wiping tears away from her eyes and holding her head in her hands. “There’s a lot to be proud of.”
Thankfully, those tears that she shed in 2023 have now returned two years later under much more positive circumstances, as Keys sat down on her players’ bench post-match in Melbourne and held a towel to her eyes in joyful awe of reaching a first final.