Written by Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Thursday, January 23, 2025
Photo credit: Hannah Peters/Getty
Iga Swiatek all the answers that were there in this field of the Australian Open dropping worked just twice on the way to the semi-finals.
Tonight, courage Madison Keys upset Swiatek with a tough match point save to pull off a thrilling 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(8) win and reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
Happy Hero: Keys Shocks Swiatek In First AO Final
It is the second time in three years that Swiatek’s Australian Open dreams have come true for the powerful American.
Feisty Danielle Collins crushed Swiatek 6-4, 6-1 in the 2022 AO semifinals, pulling off one of the worst matches of the former Grand Slam world no. 1.
In that semifinal, Collins defeated Swiatek with his backhand.
Tonight, Keys put his forehand on the line with incredible strikes down the stretch in a crunch time.
Stumbling in big moments in the past because he pulled the trigger early, tonight Keys used the power with patience. Normally, Keys would wait for the ball to the right and let it rip in front of the flamethrower.
Sometimes, Keys released a breaking ball back to Swiatek, even hitting his knees to shift the ball’s weight back to his hip.
Afterward, Swiatek cited two key strokes in the comeback victory of the American, 29:
1. Keys hit hard and play boldly on key points.
2. Keys won the most free points in the giveaway.
Although Swiatek hit his second serve hard and won the extra point, Keys broke seven aces against four double faults. In contrast, Swiatek had no aces and seven double faults.
The fact that this was a night game and the retractable roof of the Rod Laver Arena was closed during the game created better feeding conditions for Keys, who has taken a step up this season and gets more juice from the first switch to a lighter Yonex. stuck to his heavy Blade racket.
The indoor conditions also reduced some of the sting and length from the Swiatek topspin front. Keys, who still can’t hit a big forehand in the sport when his feet are still, was chasing Swiatek’s front wing, sometimes cornering him on that side before letting the front end down the lane.
“I think maybe I would have won it another time if I could have won the easy points with my performance like he did,” said Swiatek. “He was always able to get back out of trouble by serving, but I didn’t work either. So maybe that would make a difference.
“It was tight from the start. The second set, like, it was something that I just wanted to forget and go back to my game…
“Anyway, I think I played well, but he played better. I did everything I could. I can’t say, like, I screwed up or, I don’t know, I should have won it.”
Throughout his career, Keys was often cast as an explosive but flexible talent, who lacked the instincts of a killer and blew the gun all over the place in key areas.
Playing with a new Yonex racket, new polyester strings, a new step-up serve and renewed confidence, Keys posted a WTA-best 13-1 record, including a perfect 7-0 mark in three sets.
Tonight, Keys played more quietly.
When Swiatek held a match point at 6-5, the fearless Keys rounded a forehand back to her to save it.
Finally, Swiatek blinked and double-faulted. His sixth foul gifted the game, extending the drama to a 10-point game.
Down 7-8 in the breaker, Keys hit an ace and ripped forehands to break Swiatek’s lead and seal his big win.
“So what makes the difference? Like, this game was long, so it had a lot of different momentum changes and a lot of different moments that I can describe,” Swiatek said. “I think in the end Madison was, like, brave in her decisions, and she pushed me when she needed to.
“Yes, I can say that I didn’t feel free like in the previous games to push even in the important moments.”
