Brilliant Keys stuns Sabalenka to win first Grand Slam title at Australian Open
The American held her nerve in the final set to clinch a dramatic victory in her 46th Grand Slam event
Ng Han Guan/AP/SIPA
American Madison Keys stunned world No 1 and two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka in a brilliant Australian Open final on Saturday to claim her first Grand Slam title.
At the age of 29, Keys took the attack to Sabalenka throughout and her courage paid off as she clinched a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory, denying the Belarusian a third straight title at Melbourne Park.
Keys thumped away a final forehand winner, her 15th, to seal a dramatic victory. As Keys ran to her team to celebrate, Sabalenka smashed her racket courtside and then left the arena.
“I made my first Grand Slam semi-final here so to win my first Grand Slam title here means the absolute world to me,” said Keys, who has now won 14 of her first 15 matches this year.
“Thank you to my team. This is where I’m going to cry. I have wanted this for so long and I’ve been in one Grand Slam final, it did not go my way, I did not know if I would get back into this position to try to win again and my team believed in me every step of the way, so thank you very much.
“They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me and cheered me on to try to achieve this dream.”
The American is the first player to beat the world’s top two ranked women in the same Grand Slam event since Svetlana Kuznetsova at Roland-Garros in 2009. She will climb to No 7 in the rankings on Monday, equalling her career-best.
Keys in the zone early on
When Keys played in her first Grand Slam final at the US Open in 2017, she was paralysed by nerves, her feet stuck like they were in mud. This time, she began brilliantly, attacking the Sabalenka serve right from the off, especially on second serve.
The American, who beat world No 2 Iga Swiatek to reach the final, looked at ease, while two-time defending champion Sabalenka looked tight. Keys held for 2-0 with some fine serving and though Sabalenka held in the third game, she held serve herself and then broke for a second time after good defence forced the Belarusian to try a drop shot, which fell short.
Sabalenka was making some wild errors while Keys was in the groove, a slightly fortuitous backhand slice catching the top of the net and turning into a perfect drop shot as she moved up 5-1.
At this stage, Sabalenka was telling herself to “fight” and she saved a set point to cut the deficit to 5-2. For the first time in the evening, Keys appeared tight, backing off a little. Making mistakes as a result, she was broken for 5-3, but in the next game, Sabalenka paid the penalty for being passive, waiting for the mistakes to come and Keys duly ripped a backhand up the line to take the opening set after 35 minutes.
Sabalenka brings out the drop shot
For much of the first set, Sabalenka looked as if she her mind was fuzzy, not thinking clearly as Keys went on the attack. Maybe it was the bathroom break she took before the start of the second that did it, but when the set began, she looked sharper immediately.
The first sign that the champion was beginning to get it together was when she pulled out her first proper drop shot of the match to get back to 30-30 in the first game of the second set. Still Keys had break point but Sabalenka banged down an ace and held serve.
A couple of Keys errors allowed Sabalenka to hold and then the match began to turn, Sabalenka starting to gain control of the rallies, dictating the points more than in the first set, when she had been outhit. Keys saved one break point but couldn’t save a second and the world No 1 had the advantage.
At 0-30 in the next game, Keys had a half chance to break back but Sabalenka shut the door to extend her lead and then, in the next game, another good drop shot put her on top and a forehand pass gave her a second break.
Keys was still hitting the ball well, if making more mistakes, and she had three chances to break back in the next game, but couldn’t take them. Sabalenka held for 5-1 and though Keys stopped the rot, Sabalenka served out the set to level the match, making 83 percent of her first serves in that set.
KEYS HOLDS HER NERVE FOR VICTORY
The world No1 had the momentum now and had Keys in trouble at 1-1, 0-30 but to her huge credit, Keys stood firm, holding serve, and keeping her nose in front.
The American, who won the title in Adelaide before the Australian Open began, was also reading the Sabalenka drop shots now and the Belarusian missed a couple in the net, perhaps worried that Keys would run them down.
If anything, the level of both women increased, the ball striking clean, the thinking crystal clear. Keys hit two bullet groundstrokes to hold for 4-3, Sabalenka matched her as she held to love to level at 4-4.
Keys kept on hitting out, nudging ahead 5-4 as Sabalenka overhit the return. Keys won the first point on the Sabalenka service game but the world No1 served well to hold.
The pressure was now back on Keys and a short second serve was punished by Sabalebnka as she led 15-30, but a good serve and two brilliant forehands put her ahead again at 6-5.
Keys then went for broke in the next game and it paid off, a final forehand winner sealing a dramatic, deserved victory.
In the trophy ceremony, Sabalenka joked with her team that it was “your fault” but also praised Keys.
“Madison, wow, what a tournament,” she said. “You’ve been fighting really hard to get this trophy. You played unbelievable tennis, you crushed it today.”
