Madison Keys upsets Iga Swiatek in Australian Open Semifinals

It’s been over seven years since Madison Keys played her first and only Grand Slam final at the 2017 US Open. Now the 29-year-old has punched her ticket to the Australian Open final to face world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Over the past week, 19th-seeded Keys has taken down several higher-seeded players, setting her on a collision course against second-seeded Iga Swiatek. Against all odds, Keys defeated Swiatek in three sets: 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (8).

While Keys has been dominant throughout her run in Melbourne, she showed determination as she defended against a match point. Keys faced elimination when Swiatek served for the match at 6-5 in the third set and was one point away from ending it 40-30.

However, Swiatek let the fight slip away. She could not finish the match point and was eventually broken by double fault. From there, Keys outlasted Swiatek in the first-to-10, win-to-two tiebreaker.

Keys was understandably overwhelmed after one of the biggest wins of her career. Asked how she felt during her on-court interview, Keys said, “Yeah. I’m still trying to catch up with everything that’s going on. I’m in the finals. Wooo!”

Keys even asked, “Does she have a match point?” After receiving confirmation, Keys said, “I feel like I blacked out. At one point I was just out there running around.” On her way off the court, Keys signed the camera “Oh my god,” with a smiley face.

The veteran American tennis player is the oldest women’s singles finalist at the Australian Open since Serena and Venus Williams in 2017. Once again, she faces long odds against Sabalenka in the final. Sabalenka is 3-1 against Keys and looks to win her third consecutive Australian Open title.

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