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Madison Keys celebrates her victory Afp
Keys Triumphs for the First Time in Australia

Keys Triumphs for the First Time in Australia

The American Wins Her First Grand Slam by Defeating the Favourite, Sabalenka, in Melbourne

Enric Gardiner

Sábado, 25 de enero 2025, 12:15

Madison Keys, the woman who took eight years to return to a Grand Slam final, claimed her first major title by defeating Aryna Sabalenka (6-3, 2-6, 7-5) at the Australian Open.

Keys, who lost the 2017 US Open final to Sloane Stephens, redeemed that defeat by overcoming Sabalenka, who was aiming for a title hat-trick here, a feat only achieved by Martina Hingis, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, Evonne Goolagong, and Margaret Court. No one has won four consecutively.

The American completed a dream tournament, defeating Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek, and Sabalenka in Sunday's final, as well as Danielle Collins and Elina Svitolina. The Belarusian was the favourite, having lost only one set in the two weeks of the tournament, but she crumbled under her own nerves and frustration.

In the first set, she showed a poor level of service, winning just 43% of first serves, allowing Keys, who had lost her last three matches against the Belarusian, to get into the match and believe that victory was possible. She managed to take a 5-1 lead, and despite a scare at the end with Sabalenka recovering two games, another poor service from the number one handed the first set to the American, who was one set away from the biggest title of her career.

Sabalenka, as expected from great champions, resurged in the second set, adjusting her serve and increasing her tally of winners, going from four in the first to thirteen in the second. With the match being decided in the third set, Keys had a crucial advantage. She served first.

This allowed her to always have the initiative and put Sabalenka under constant pressure. If the Belarusian faltered with her serve again, it would give the American a huge advantage. The nerves caused the level to rise and the risks to decrease. There wasn't a single break point in the entire set until the final 5-6.

Keys, for the second time, returned to win the match and reached 15-40. The first match point went wide; on the second, she hit an inside-out forehand that secured her victory. While Keys celebrated her first Grand Slam, Sabalenka spoke to herself and headed to her bench to smash her racket. She had let her third consecutive Australian Open slip away.

Meanwhile, Keys cried and embraced her team. Seven years had passed since the lost final against Stephens in New York, and since then, she hadn't reached another Grand Slam title match. Until this Sunday, when she not only returned to the trophy fight but took it home.

"I have dreamed of this for so long, and I always thought I wouldn't have another chance and that I would never be here again. My team always believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself," Keys said through tears as she received the trophy from Goolagong, a four-time winner in Australia.

Keys will rise to seventh in the rankings, the best of her career, while Sabalenka will hold onto the number one spot but with a lead of less than 200 points over Swiatek.

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