Melbourne, Australia – When Madison Keys stepped into Rod Lever Arena at 7:37 pm on Saturday night before the Australian Open Final, they just behind the Daffne Akht Memorial Cup, the trophy that goes to the woman champion and was placed on one . Pedestal near the entrance of the court.
Kise Struad did not break. Did not stop to stare. That bit of hardware was then placed near the net for the pre-match coin toss, where the American was standing, closure. Close enough to touch. Close enough to feel real. In addition, two -time defending champions, no.
In fact 2 1/2 hour- and a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 were in victory-and-aquet, the keys were, smiling the wide smile holding the silver trophy with both hands, smiling, for the first time Time at the age of 29, a Grand Slam champion. This was the second chance to play for a major title: the first ended in a loped loss at the 2017 US Open, an experience that taught him that he should be able to play through the veins.
“I wanted so long,” Keys said, which was born in Illinois and is now located in Florida, “and I have been in another Grand Slam final, and it didn’t go in my way, and I did not go Doing ‘T know if I was going to come back in this situation. ”
sure did. She is the oldest woman to become a slam champion for the first time as Flevia Peneteta was 33 in the 2015 US Open. It was the 46th Slam appearance for the KIT, which was the third highest number of women before winning the major title, only 49 of Peneteta and 47 of Marian Bartoli when she won Wimbledon in 2013.
Keys did not take an easy way, either.
Before the three-set victory came in the semi-finals against the number 2 IGA Swetech, which left a match point on the way. In 2005, Serena Williams defeated a player both of the top two women of the WTA at Melbourne Park.
“Madison: Wow, what is a tournament,” Sabalenka said.
“Enjoy the celebration,” she told Keys. “Enjoy the really fun part.”
Keys, ranked 14th and 19th, was finalized by Martina Hingis from Martina Hingis from Australian Open to Australian Open-and she was finally completed by Martina Hingis from Martina Hingis. Major titles.
When it was finished, the keys covered her face with her hands, then raised her arms. Soon, she was embracing her husband, Byrne Fratangelo – – her coach since 2023 – and other members of her team, sitting on their sideline bench and laughing before.
Sabalanka dodged her racket, covered her head with a white towel and left the court briefly, before returning to the match after the match.
Sabalenka later explained, “I just needed … to switch off and … to be honorable,” Sabalenka later explained. “It was not my day.”
In the first set, Keys broke three times, helped part by four double-faults of Sabalenka and 13 total unexpected errors. But do not think that it was only an example of Sabalenka which was his own.
The way things were going, there was a lot with him. He compiled an 11–4 lead in the winners in the initial set, which was repeatedly managed to dismiss the big-tingling Sabalenka.
For a stretch, it seemed that every shot shoots the wires of the racket of every shot-before this season, on the insistence of Fratangelo, along with it, along with it to protect and protect the right shoulder To make it easy to control, which he is ahead of this season. – Where she wanted, she was getting down properly.
Near a corner. On one line. 26 -year -old Belarus, out of reach of Sabalenka.
It was also important that Keys, whose left thigh was tapped for the match, was covered by every part of the court, racing to go on the balls and sent them back to the net. On a terrible defensive sequence, he sprayed to a forehand, which attracted a forehand in the net from Sabalenka, faced a break for a 4–1 lead.
Never to hide her feelings, Sabalenka kicked a ball after netting a volley and dropped her racket after remembering an overhead.
She went to the locker room before the second set, and did it help clean her head or slow down the speed of the keys – or both – the last color changed soon. In the first set, the first-service percentage of Keys in the first set rose from 86% to 59% in the second. Sabalenka made her winner a total of 13 in the second set and started depositing, and converting, brake points.
When he sent the line down the backhand to force the Keez error for the break and a 2–1 lead in the other, Sabalenka shook his left hand and grinded his teeth. The action in the third set was tight and tense, until his final game without a single break point, when Keys came with a final forehand winner.
How close it was here: Keys won only one more points compared to Sabalenka, 92-91. The two ended with 29 winners.
Keys had to wait for this moment, yes, but it came.