Madison Keys upsets Iga Swiatek and will face Aryna Sabalenka in the Aussie Open final

By HOWARD FENDRICH

MELBOURNE, Australia — When Madison Keys yet finished disconnected her 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8) upset of No. 2 Iga Swiatek successful a high-intensity, high-quality Australian Open semifinal connected Thursday night, redeeming a lucifer constituent on the way, the 29-year-old American crouched connected the tribunal and placed a manus connected her achromatic hat.

She had a hard clip believing it all. The comeback. What Keys called an “extra melodramatic finish.” The triumph implicit five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek, who’d been connected the astir ascendant tally astatine Melbourne Park successful a twelve years. And present the accidental to play successful her 2nd Grand Slam final, a agelong hold aft being the 2017 U.S. Open runner-up.

“I’m inactive trying to drawback up to everything that’s happening,” said the 19th-seeded Keys, who volition look No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, for the trophy Saturday. “I felt similar I was conscionable warring to enactment successful it. … It was truthful up and down and truthful galore large points.”

Just to beryllium sure, Keys asked whether Swiatek was, indeed, 1 constituent from victory. Yes, Madison, she was, portion serving astatine 6-5, 40-30, but missed a backhand into the net, past yet getting breached by double-faulting, sending the contention to a first-to-10, win-by-two tiebreaker.

“I felt similar I blacked retired determination astatine immoderate point,” Keys said, “and was retired determination moving around.”

Whatever she was doing, it worked. Keys claimed much games successful the semifinal than the 14 full that Swiatek dropped successful her 5 erstwhile matches implicit the past 2 weeks.

Sabalenka bushed bully person Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 earlier Thursday. Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, tin go the archetypal pistillate since 1999 to implicit a threepeat.

“If she plays similar this,” the 11th-seeded Badosa said, “I mean, we tin already springiness her the trophy.”

Keys mightiness person thing to accidental astir that.

Still, Sabalenka won her archetypal large trophy astatine Melbourne Park successful 2023, and she since has added 2 much — successful Australia a twelvemonth agone and astatine the U.S. Open past September.

The past pistillate to scope 3 finals successful a enactment astatine the year’s archetypal Grand Slam tourney was Serena Williams, who won 2 from 2015-17. Martina Hingis was the astir caller pistillate with a threepeat, doing it from 1997-1999.

“I person goosebumps. I’m truthful arrogant of myself,” Sabalenka said.

Swiatek had not mislaid a azygous work crippled since the archetypal round, but was breached 3 times by Keys successful the archetypal acceptable unsocial and 8 times successful all.

That included each of Swiatek’s archetypal 2 times serving, making wide close from the get-go this would not beryllium her accustomed benignant of day. And portion Swiatek did eke retired the opening set, she was overwhelmed successful the second, trailing 5-0 earlier getting a game.

This was the big-hitting Keys astatine her precise best. She turns 30 adjacent period and, astatine the proposition of her coach, erstwhile subordinate Bjorn Fratangelo — who besides happens to beryllium her hubby — decided to effort a caller racket this season, an effort some to assistance her with generating casual powerfulness but besides to relieve immoderate strain connected her close shoulder.

It’s surely paid contiguous dividends. Keys is present connected an 11-match winning streak, including taking the rubric astatine a tuneup lawsuit successful Adelaide.

She was bully capable to get done this one, which was arsenic choky arsenic tin beryllium down the stretch.

“At the end, I consciousness similar we were some benignant of battling immoderate nerves. … It conscionable became who tin get that last constituent and who tin beryllium a small spot amended than the different one,” Keys said. “And I’m blessed it was me.”

Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, trailed 2-0, 40-love astatine the commencement but rapidly figured things out, particularly erstwhile Rod Laver Arena’s retractable extortion was unopen successful the archetypal acceptable due to the fact that of a drizzle. She straightened her strokes and overpowered Badosa, who eliminated No. 3 Coco Gauff to scope her archetypal large semifinal.

“She started to beryllium very, precise aggressive” said Badosa, who thought astir retiring past twelvemonth portion dealing with a accent fracture successful her back. “Everything was working.”

Sabalenka and Badosa did their champion to debar immoderate oculus interaction for overmuch of the evening, whether up astatine the nett for the coin flip oregon erstwhile they crossed paths astatine changeovers.

When their lucifer was over, they met for a lengthy hug.

During Sabalenka’s on-court interview, she joked astir taking Badosa — who by past was sitting successful a hallway, her caput bowed — connected a buying spree to marque things up to her, paying for immoderate the Spaniard wants.

Told what Sabalenka said, Badosa noted: “It’s going to beryllium thing truly expensive.”