Courtesy: Google
Madison Keys, the American tennis player, defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the final of the Australian Open, to win her first Grand Slam singles title on Saturday January 25. The 29-year-old, who was seeded 19th in the Australian Open women’s singles draw, got the better of the reigning two-time champion in three sets with a scoreline of 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in two hours and four minutes.
In her second Grand Slam singles final, which arrived after a wait of nearly eight years, Madison Keys was ready to put the ghosts of losing the US Open title in 2017 to Sloane Stephens behind her. Keys broke the serve of Sabalenka in the opening game of the first set in the Australian Open final, and followed it up with another break of serve in the fifth game, but ultimately, she won the first set 6-3 only after breaking her serve for the third time.
I'm absolutely going to cry. There is no way I get through this without tears: Madison Keys
The second set saw the world number one Aryna Sabalenka bounce back strongly, holding her serve right throughout while breaking the serve of Madison Keys twice, to win it 6-2. The third and deciding set of the women’s singles final at the Australian Open saw both Keys and Sabalenka hold their serve in the first 11 games, but then, the American converted the break point and championship point on the second time of asking, to become the new Grand Slam champion.
Watch the video here:
After winning the Australian Open for the first-time in her career, Madison Keys was quoted as saying, as per BBC Sport, “Bear with me because I'm absolutely going to cry. There is no way I get through this without tears, so sorry in advance.... Thank you to everyone who came out and cheered the last two weeks. I always feel so at home here. I made my very first Grand Slam semi-final here in Melbourne, so to have won my first Grand Slam in the same place means the absolute world to me.”
Following her defeat in the Australian Open final, Aryna Sabalenka wasn’t too disappointed, and she already talked about coming back to Melbourne next year.
