19th seed Madison Keys stuns top seed Iga Swiatek with semi-final win

Madison Keys stunned World No. 2 Iga Swiatek, defeating her in the Australian Open semi-final 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8). 

In 2022, Iga Swiatek was defeated by Danielle Collins in straight sets in the semi-finals. Now, it was Keys who ended her run.

Keys posted photos of herself enjoying the victory in her social media account and stated: “Finals”.

 

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Highlights of the match 

The first set was a back-and-forth battle of breaks, and both athletes were struggling to hold serve. However, Swiatek eventually broke the pattern, holding serve to go up at 5-2 and putting Keys under significant pressure. Keys maintained her composure, breaking back to level the set at 5-5 as she constantly showed her resilience on the court. 

Swiatek used all of her experience to secure a fourth break of serve and take the first set. Keys came out with full force in the second set, securing three breaks of serve to have a 5-0 lead in just 18 minutes. While Swiatek managed to break once, Keys wrapped up the set by converting her fourth break point. 

In the third set, both players held their serve until 4-4. Swiatek had the chance to go up at 5-3, but Keys fought back fiercely, saving four break points in the eighth game. At 5-5, she capitalized on her break point and had a 6-5 lead. 

In the tiebreak, Swiatek initially took the lead, but Keys responded with some excellent tennis, levelling the score at 7-7. An unforced error from Swiatek closed the match, making Keys the winner. 

Keys will now battle against World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Paula Badosa in straight sets. 

Source: India Today