Keys Stuns Swiatek in Australian Open Semifinals

Madison Keys reached the second Grand Slam final of her career, following her 2017 US Open appearance, by coming from a set and match point down to upset No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek 5-7, 6-1, 7-6[8] in the Australian Open semifinals.

With Swiatek holding a 4-1 head-to-head advantage, all in straight sets, it seemed the pattern would continue when the Polish No. 2 seed raced to a 5-2 lead in the first set despite both players trading four consecutive breaks of serve at the start of the match.

However, Keys found her rhythm, while Swiatek made a few errors, allowing Keys to level the score at 5-5.  Swiatek eventually took the set with better execution at the net, but Keys had started to find her range and went on to dominate the second set, dropping just one game.

The third set was a tense back-and-forth, with momentum shifting throughout. Keys missed two break points to go up 5-3 but managed to recover from triple break point down in the next game to lead 5-4. She came within two points of victory but Swiatek escaped with a powerful forehand and a brilliant backhand pass. At 5-5, Keys faltered with a double fault and an ill-timed drop shot on break point, allowing Swiatek to go up 6-5.

Serving for the match, Swiatek squandered match point with a backhand error and double-faulted, sending the match into a super-tiebreak. Swiatek led most of the tiebreak, and at 7-7, produced the shot of the match, a reflex volley winner off a full-force Keys forehand.

Despite the momentum seeming to be in Swiatek’s favour, Keys returned to the basics, hitting an ace followed by a service winner to set up her first match point. In the final rally, Swiatek’s forehand broke down first, giving Keys the victory.

In her on-court interview, Keys told Casey Dellacqua, “Even though I lost the first set, I felt like I was playing some better tennis at the end of it. To be able to kind of run with that second set and really just settle, that was really nice.”

On the third set, she added, “It was so up and down, and there were so many big points and break point chances that neither one of us got… I feel like I blacked out at some point, and I was just out there running around. Just to be able to stay in it, keep fighting, and then a 10-point tiebreak for an extra-dramatic finish.”

Keys switched to a new racket designed to help her harness her physical strength without overdoing things, which may have contributed to her ability to hit through Swiatek. In her post-match press conference, when asked about her racket change and how it might have contributed to her performance, Keys explained that she began experimenting with different racket setups last year alongside her coach to address ongoing injuries and make her game a bit easier on her body.

She added, “I have really no idea about how rackets and string work. So, I kind of just let him (coach) lead the charge and give me options. We tried a bunch of different things. I definitely think that I have a level of trust in things a little bit more with this racket, I feel like I’m able to go for things a little bit more but have the ability to be able to control them a little bit more and I think one of the big things is especially on the days where I’m not really feeling things I felt like I have the ability to manipulate things with my racket in my hands and have a little bit more safety where I was struggling with that before. I think it’s obviously been a huge benefit for me and has brought a lot more to my game.”

The win extends Keys’ winning streak to 11 victories, following her 9th WTA Tour title in Adelaide two weeks ago. The American will meet top seed and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final, after Sabalenka defeated Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

The defeat marks Swiatek’s second loss in the Australian Open semifinals. “I guess at the end Madison was kind of brave with her decisions, and she pushed me when she needed to… Yeah, I would say I wasn’t feeling as free as on previous matches to also push in the important moments,” Swiatek said in the press conference.