MELBOURNE: Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys made rocky starts on Thursday but eventually secured contrasting victories to set up a heavy metal Australian Open final showdown that will pit two of the game’s big hitters against each other.
Belarusian top seed Sabalenka overwhelmed her best friend Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 in an impressive display of sheer power to storm into her third straight title clash at the year’s opening Grand Slam, where she will bid for her fourth major title.
Keys rallied from a set down and saved a match point to stun Swiatek 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(8) in a thriller, making her first final at the Australian Open and second at the majors after a run to the 2017 US Open title clash ended in a loss to Sloane Stephens.
The 29-year-old American had spoken in 2022 about the “dark pit of despair” she found herself in as her career stalled due to the pressure of trying to remain in the upper echelons of tennis but her return to that level this year has been rapid.
After winning the Adelaide title this month, Keys pulled off the biggest win of her career against world number two Swiatek, before bowing her head and soaking up thunderous applause from the thoroughly entertained Rod Laver Arena crowd.
“I’m still trying to catch up to everything that’s happening,” Keys said. “I’m in the finals. Woo-hoo! That match was just such a high level … I was just fighting to stay in it … To be able to be standing in the final is absolutely amazing and I’m glad I can be here on Saturday.”
Five-times Grand Slam champion Swiatek came into the clash having not lost her serve in her last four matches at Melbourne Park but she was under immediate pressure when Keys took the opener and looked to consolidate the break.
Roared on by an army of Polish fans at Rod Laver Arena, Swiatek switched into battle mode and pulled it back and the pair swapped breaks once again before the second seed took control of the opening set at 4-2.
After rain prompted the closure of the roof, Keys came out swinging to close the gap and shrugged off a shocking mistake on an overhead smash at the net before drawing level at 5-5 but was unable to stop Swiatek from reeling off the next two games.
Experienced Keys, competing in her third semi-final at the Australian Open, continued to heap the pressure on with heavy ball-striking and impeccable serving to race ahead 5-0 in the next set before Swiatek avoided the embarrassment of a bagel.
Keys drew level at one set apiece with her seventh break in the match and made a solid start to the deciding set, hitting a backhand rocket to hold for 4-3, before rescuing four break points to go 5-4 up.
Swiatek responded and squandered a match point at 6-5 before taking the lead in the tiebreak but Keys battled back and sealed victory when the Pole hit a shot long.
“I think in the end we were both battling some nerves and really pushing each other,” Keys said. “It was about who could get that final point and be a little better than the other and I’m happy it was me.”
NOT PERFECT
Sabalenka was also not perfect and trailed Badosa 2-0 in the opening set with a flurry of unforced errors, but she soon found her mark and put her dependable forehand to work to end the 11th seed’s run in the Spaniard’s first major semi-final.
“I have goosebumps. I’m so proud of myself and my team to put ourselves in this situation,” said Sabalenka as she set up the prospect of a ‘three-peat’ in Melbourne for the first time since Martina Hingis in 1997-99.
“If I put my name in history it’ll mean the world for me, I couldn’t even dream of it … I’ll go out and give everything in the final.”
After taking the surprise early lead, Badosa was constantly under siege on serve.
She hung tough to save a slew of break points but it felt like only a matter of time before Sabalenka crashed through her defences, which she duly did by breaking Badosa in the third and fifth games before holding firm to take the first set.
Badosa tried to conjure the fighting spirit that saw her beat Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals in one of the shocks of the event, but Sabalenka’s pressure wore her down and she hit a double fault to drop serve in the third game of the second set.
World number one Sabalenka rode the momentum to a 5-1 lead before sealing the match with a forehand down the line.
It may be a while before the Spaniard can get over the defeat to hang out again with her Belarusian buddy.
“She’ll probably hate me for a day or two and then we can be friends again and go shopping. I promise we’ll do that and I’ll pay for whatever she wants,” said Sabalenka.
Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2025
