Ranked 14th in the world, American tennis player Madison Keys clinched her first Grand Slam title by defeating the current world No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion, Aryna Sabalenka, in a thrilling final that ended 2-1, with a score of 6/3, 2/6, and 7/5 after 2 hours and 2 minutes of intense play. This victory marks Keys’ first Grand Slam title in her career, following her runner-up position in the 2017 US Open final. The 29-year-old athlete boasts one WTA 1000 title and seven WTA 500 trophies, including the recent triumph in Adelaide to kick off the year. In the semifinals, she had already conquered another top seed, Polish player Iga Swiatek, who is currently ranked 2nd globally.
Despite a hard-fought battle that prevented her from securing a third consecutive Australian Open title, and a fourth Grand Slam victory overall, Sabalenka retains her position as the world’s top-ranked female tennis player. The loss to Keys also ended Sabalenka’s remarkable streak of 20 consecutive wins on the hard court of the Melbourne venue. The American player took an early lead in the match, breaking Sabalenka’s serve right at the start. Keys continued to dominate, securing a 4/1 lead, although Sabalenka managed to break back. However, Keys found her rhythm again, securing a third break to close the set with a score of 6/3.
In the second set, the world No. 1 came back stronger while Keys experienced a slight drop in performance. With significant improvements in her serve and returns, Sabalenka did not lose a single game on her serve and broke Keys twice to claim the set 6/2, pushing the match into a thrilling final set. The third set was fiercely contested, with both players holding serve until Keys took a 6/5 lead. When Sabalenka needed to win the game to force a tie-break, the American player displayed courage, attacking her opponent to secure the victory.
Coming up on Sunday (January 26) at 5:30 AM (Brasília time), the world’s top-ranked Italian player, Jannik Sinner, will face German athlete Alexander Zverev in the men’s singles final of the Australian Open.
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