By: Osabuohien Imuetinyanosa
Madison Keys secured her first ever grand slam title on Saturday, hammering two-time defending champion and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 2-6 7-5 in a thrilling Australian Open women’s final.
The 29-year-old American had a glimpse of one of those exciting golden days when every part of her game intertwined smoothly and perfectly – her serve was at it’s peak, her returns aggressive and her groundstrokes powerful enough to knock down the dreaded and powerful Sabalenka .
With great prowess in mastery of her racket and precision she clock the first set to her advantage. But in the second set, Sabalenka showed energy, vision and a display of those qualities that made her terrifying before opponents, with such performance every judgement from the audience to the judges I guess was to the favour of the world no. 1 but Keys’ easy in reaction was so much so professional to handle the champion.
In the final set Madison Keys saw the keys to the winning door, as she held firm her nerves, and with great dexterity she finally broke Sabalenka at 7-5, which brought her raising her arms to the sky in wild celebration before running over to her team, embracing her coach and husband Bjorn Fratangelo and so her wild celebration continues with the audience thrilled at her resilience.
A former prodigy who seemed destined for grand slam success early in her career, Keys had never quite reached the heights she was expected to reach, until now. She suffered a devastating and comprehensive 6-3 6-0 loss to Sloane Stephens in the 2017 US Open final before somehow losing to Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open semifinal despite being a set and a break up.
“I have wanted this for so long and I have been in one other grand slam final. It did not go my way and I didn’t know if I was every going to be able to get back to this position to try to win a trophy again,” she said in her on-court interview afterwards, her voice cracking with emotion. “And my team believed in me every step of the way so thank you so much.
“Last year was so tough with some really bad injuries and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it again and to be here and to have this trophy and to also be able to do it with my husband who is kind of dazed and confused over there, I love you all so much and I cannot wait for more.”
Madison Keys has proven something special about determination and not letting past defeat overwhelm her. She put on bravery and focus and took every slightest opportunity to soar above players like Elena Rybakina, Danielle Collins and world No. 2 Iga Świątek, and became the first woman since Serena Williams in 2005 to defeat the world No. 1 and No. 2 seeds at the Australian Open.
