Madison Keys recovered from a set down and saved a match point in the third set before edging a super tiebreak to seal a thrilling 5-7 6-1 7-6(8) victory over Iga Swiatek and reach her second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open.
The match began with four consecutive breaks of serve, but Swiatek ended the streak with a confident hold to take a 3-2 lead. It appeared she was on track to dominate the set, with her opponent struggling to hold serve. However, Keys shifted the momentum. Trailing 5-2 and facing a set point, Keys held serve for the first time, sparking a comeback that saw her level the score at 5-5. Swiatek, unfazed, responded with a flawless service game, holding at love to halt Keys’ surge. She then broke the American’s serve for the fourth time to clinch the set.
Swiatek seemed to have switched off after winning the first set, as Keys stormed to a 5-0 lead in the second set, eventually winning it 6-1 after an exchange of breaks. The battle intensified in the third set, as both players saved multiple break points and held their serves until 5-5.
In the eleventh game of the decider, Swiatek earned a 40-0 lead on Keys’ serve and used her third opportunity to record the first break of the set, even earning a match point in the following game. But the drama didn’t end there! Swiatek’s sixth double fault handed Keys the break back, and the semifinal then surged into a super tiebreak, where Keys staged a remarkable comeback, edging it despite trailing 7-5.
Keys will have a big obstacle before she lifts the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup – two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka who defeated best friend Paula Badosa in the earlier semifinal. Sabalenka leads Keys 4-1 in their head-to-head and has won their last three meetings.