Sabalenka showed great determination to bounce back against Madison Keys, winning the second set 6-2 after losing the first 6-3 in their Saturday night match.
Keys started strong, breaking Sabalenka’s serve in the opening game and dominating with powerful groundstrokes. Though Sabalenka managed to level the score in the eighth game, Keys remained composed, broke her serve again, and closed the first set in just 35 minutes.
In the second set, Sabalenka turned things around, breaking Keys’ serve in the third and fifth games. Her aggressive baseline shots and improved first serves shifted the momentum in her favor, setting up an exciting final set.
In the final set, both players held their serves until Keys broke Sabalenka in the last game, securing her first Grand Slam title.
Keys achieved a remarkable feat by defeating the world’s No. 1-ranked player, Aryna Sabalenka, and No. 2, Iga Swiatek, in the same tournament. In the semifinals on Thursday, she saved a match point to beat Swiatek, and with her win over Sabalenka, she became the first woman since Serena Williams in 2005 to defeat both of the WTA’s top two players at Melbourne Park.
Madison Keys, ranked 14th and seeded 19th, played in her second major final after being the runner-up at the 2017 U.S. Open. She stopped Sabalenka from winning her third consecutive Australian Open title, a feat last achieved by Martina Hingis between 1997 and 1999, and from claiming her fourth major title overall.
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