By Tony Fairbairn
- Madison Keys [19] def Aryna Sabalenka [1] 6-3 2-6 7-5
- Madison Keys spoke about the burden that surrounded her career for so long as she finally achieved her Grand Slam dream
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Madison Keys praised the usage of sports therapy as she claimed her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, defeating Aryna Sabalenka in three sets.
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Madison Keys [19] def Aryna Sabalenka [1] 6-3 2-6 7-5
Madison Keys is finally a Grand Slam champion! The American defeated Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to win her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. It was the perfect start from Keys and it was a tentative start from Sabalenka as a couple of double faults from the world number one led to a break in the opening game from the 19th seed.
There was no signs of Keys slowing down as she comfortably consolidated the break with Sabalenka feeling the weight of pressure. The defending champion was aiming to become the fourth woman in the Open Era to win three consecutive times at a single Grand Slam event and the pressure of achieving history was telling. Eventually Sabalenka found her groove on serve but on return, there was a catalogue of errors as she showed no signs of threatening on Keys’ serve.
That would cost the world number one as the 19th seed displayed precision and accuracy to take advantage of more unforced errors from Sabalenka. A double break was secured from the American as Keys was in dreamland at 4-1 with the 19th seed playing some of her best tennis of the tournament.
A crucial hold of serve seemed to wake up Sabalenka’s game as the defending champion secured one of the breaks back at 5-3. However, Sabalenka once again displayed her service jitters as a double fault set up set point for Keys. There was no hesitation from the 19th seed who broke for a third time in the set with a backhand winner as she wrapped up the opening set in 35 minutes.
In the second set, Sabalenka problem solved her way past Keys’ game and produced an immediate response by breaking in the third game for a 2-1 lead. For the first time in the contest, Sabalenka seized control of the match as she displayed a mixture of place and finesse to dominate the second set against Keys. The American attempted to approach the net but with minimal success as a passing shot winner secured the double break at 4-1.
There was still pressure on the world number one’s serve but this time Sabalenka had the confidence and mental concentration to fend off the American’s power. The defending champion minimalised her unforced errors as she comfortably secured the second set in 45 minutes.
In the third set, there was little to separate the two players with Keys responding to Sabalenka’s recent dominance. If the American wanted to win this match then she would have to be resilient and dig deep just like she did against Iga Swiatek. That’s exactly what she did as the level of play got higher and higher with the standard of play being at a high level.
This match was dramatic and full of quality as Sabalenka pushed for the crucial break but Keys produced incredible defence to edge ahead in the match. Both players showed passion as this match meant so much to both competitors.
However only one player could win the title and Keys produced a stunning last return game, which was finished with a forehand winner as the American claimed her maiden Grand Slam title.
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Keys benefits from sports therapy, opens up about career burden
After years of trying, Keys has finally won a Grand Slam title and is rewarded for her incredible start to the season having entered the Australian Open with a title in Adelaide.
Speaking after her victory over Sabalenka, Keys always believed that she could win the title as she grew in confidence over the course of the week.
“I just feel like it’s one of those things that slowly keeps building. All of a sudden you’re winning a bunch of matches in Adelaide,” Keys told the Australian Open website.
“Then you’re coming in here. I think winning that match the other night against Iga was really kind of a big hurdle where I felt like – I always believed that I could do it. But to do it that way … I thought to myself after the match that I can absolutely win on Saturday.”
It has been a long time coming for Keys with the American being expected to win a Grand Slam since she was first coming up on tour but never having the consistency to fulfil her potential.
Now having had expectations lifted off her shoulders, Keys has achieved her ultimate dream at the age of 29.
Speaking in her press conference, Keys opened up on the burden that she has had to put up with in her career.
“I felt like from a pretty young age, I felt like if I never won a Grand Slam, then I wouldn’t have lived up to what people thought I should have been. That was a pretty heavy burden to kind of carry around,” Keys admitted to the Australian Open website.
“So I finally got to the point where I was proud of myself and proud of my career, with or without a Grand Slam. I finally got to the point where I was okay if it didn’t happen. I didn’t need it to feel like I had a good career or that I deserved to be talked about as a great tennis player.
“I feel like finally letting go of that kind of internal talk that I had just gave me the ability to actually go out and play some really good tennis to actually win a Grand Slam.”
It’s taken some resilience from Keys in order to get to this point as the American had to overcome some pretty absurd lows in order to realise the highs.
In terms of how the American dealt with that, sports therapy seems to be the answer and the reason why she is the Australian Open champion.
“Lots of therapy, I really kind of bought into it,” Keys explained to the Australian Open website.
“I think in the past I had always kind of tried to go the sports therapy route where it was more about routine and controlling things you can control and all of that.
“I felt like I was always good enough at that, but to really start kind of digging in on how I felt about myself and really being honest with myself about it, it was really hard because I didn’t really want to be the person that felt like I was really struggling, but I was starting to really struggle with it.
“So just being really honest and actually getting help and actually talking to someone, and not just about tennis but about how I felt about myself … I honestly think that had I not done that, then I wouldn’t be sitting here.”
As a result of Keys’ Grand Slam breakthrough, she will now be at a career high ranking of seven in the world on Monday.
Sabalenka ‘super proud’ of Melbourne dominance despite defeat
However it was defeat for Sabalenka who was aiming to win a historic third consecutive Australian Open title.
It would of meant Sabalenka would have joined an elite group of champions who have won three consecutive titles of the same Grand Slam but the world number one now leaves Melbourne empty handed.
Speaking about the match Sabalenka said that people only remember the winners and vowed to come back to win the title next year.
“I think when you get to the point of finals, it’s trophy or nothing. Nobody remembers the finalist, you know? Nobody put, like, next to the winner (the) finalist name,” Sabalenka told the Australian Open website.
“At this point, yeah, I go for titles. Of course, I have to be anyway proud of myself with the finals, three finals in a row. That’s something crazy. I hope that next year I’ll come back as a better player, and I’ll hold Daphne (the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup) one more time.”
It was a gutting defeat for Sabalenka who didn’t bring her best tennis to the match especially in the first set.
After the match Sabalenka smashed her racket and went off court to continue her meltdown.
In her press conference Sabalenka explained her post-match emotions after a tough day at the office.
“There definitely was a bit of frustration because I was so close to achieve something crazy,” Sabalenka admitted to the Australian Open website.
“When you’re out there, you’re fighting, but it seems like everything going not the way you really want to go. I just needed to throw those negative emotions at the end just so I could give a speech, not stand there being disrespectful. I was just trying to let it go and be a good person, be respectful.
“It’s OK. I mean, I’m the one who knows that after tough losses, there is good wins. So I’ll keep working and make sure that next time, if I’ll be in this situation, I’ll play definitely better.”
However, there are a lot of positives for Sabalenka to take as her unbeaten record in Melbourne ends at 20 matches.
The world number one reflected on her past dominance in previous years and admitted she is ‘super proud’ at her past successes.
“That I was able to achieve that many wins in a row at one Grand Slam, that’s crazy. That’s already something,” Sabalenka told the Australian Open website.
“When someone else going to achieve the same, they’re going to say the last player who was able to achieve, they’re going to say my name. It’s already something big. I’m just trying to stay positive right now, find something good, but that’s crazy. I couldn’t even dream, couldn’t even think about that, like, few years ago that I’d be able to win that many matches in a row at one Slam.”
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