American Madison Keys will be seeking her first Grand Slam title after upsetting No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (8) in the Australian Open semifinals.
Keys, the No. 19 seed, rallied after facing a match point against Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion, in a match that took two hours and 38 minutes.
The 29-year-old Keys advanced to her second career Grand Slam final. She lost the 2017 U.S. Open final to Sloane Stephens.
“Yeah, I’m in the finals,” Keys said after the match. “That match was just such high level and she played so well and I felt like I was just fighting to stay in it. I kind of really ran with the second and then the third was just a battle. To be able to be standing here and be in the finals is absolutely amazing and I’m so excited that I get to be here on Saturday.’
Swiatek was serving at 6-5 and 40-30 but hit a shot into the net, and her serve was broken after a double-fault, leading to the tiebreaker.
Swiatek also had a chance for the victory in the tiebreaker and was leading 8-7 but Keys won three straight points to reach the final.
Keys to face Aryna Sabalenka
Keys’ opponent in the final will be Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s No. 1 player. Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, beat Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinal for her 20th straight victory in the Australian Open. She will also hold on to the No. 1 ranking for the 15th straight week no matter what happens in her match against Keys.
“I have goosebumps. I’m so proud of myself. I’m proud of my team that we were able to put ourselves in such a situation,” Sabalenka said. “If I’ll be able to put myself in the history (books), it’s going to mean a lot. It’s going to mean the world to me.”
She is seeking the first three-peat down under by a woman since 1999, when Martina Hingis finished off the last of her three straight victories at the tournament.