Madison Keys beats Iga Świątek to book Australian Open final clash with Aryna Sabalenka

In the third set, when Iga Swiatek led 6-5, 40-30, preparing to serve, it seemed everyone in Rod Laver Arena realized the Polish player held match point. However, her opponent, Madison Keys, on the other side of the net, was completely unaware.

Madison Keys upset second seed Iga Swiatek in the Australian Open semi-finals and will face world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final. "I had absolutely no idea what the score was," Keys said in her post-match interview. This wasn't because Keys was confused or unable to read the scoreboard.

This precisely reflects the intense focus of the American 19th seed, which ultimately overwhelmed Swiatek and allowed her to advance to the final to challenge the two-time defending champion Sabalenka. "I just kept telling myself, 'try to win the next point'," Keys said. "Especially at the end of the match, I was really focused on what I wanted to do." She added, "I think that helped me because I was able to stay completely in the moment. I just kept telling myself, 'just focus on this point, win or lose, just move on to the next one,' and I just tried to stay focused."

This mindset helped Keys save match point and, after Swiatek lost her serve, force the match into a 10-point tiebreak. Leading 8-7 in the tiebreak, second seed Swiatek was just two points away from victory and her first Australian Open final. However, after midnight, Keys won three consecutive points to ultimately win the match 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10/8) after a grueling two hours and 35 minutes. Keys admitted that she had unpleasant memories from her most recent Grand Slam encounter with Sabalenka.

In the 2023 US Open semi-finals, Keys had been in a commanding position when serving for the match in the second set. However, a service game loss allowed Sabalenka back into the match, and the Belarusian ultimately came back to win 0-6, 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7/5). Keys acknowledged that it took her some time to recover from the blow of that loss. "If I said there were no doubts [after the loss], that would be a lie. I think that was a really important moment," said Keys, who had previously reached the 2017 US Open final. "I felt like I was so close to winning. To be that close and lose, it was really heartbreaking. I felt like I had really given everything I had. That's really all you can ask for. But ultimately, it was still a tough loss to swallow. So it took me a while to get over that."

While going through the recovery process, Keys also realized she wanted to play more freely and not be afraid of feeling "uncomfortable" on the court. The 29-year-old believes this mindset shift was the inspiration behind her victory over Swiatek on Thursday night. "After losing to Aryna at the US Open, I felt like I was trying to play it safe and not playing the way I wanted to in big moments," Keys said. "It felt terrible. I just felt like if I could go out there and do what I wanted and actually feel uncomfortable at times and really go for it... then I could walk away and say, 'Okay, I tried my best, she beat me, it's fine'." She added, "I just didn't want to be in that same position again and look back and think, 'Oh gosh, I should have just gone for it.' I didn't want to have any regrets about not really giving it my all. So... my whole goal today [against Swiatek] was, win or lose, I want to walk away and say I did what I wanted to do, I followed my game plan, and I went for it when I should have."

Keys and world No. 1 Sabalenka will face off in the final on Saturday night. Sabalenka reached her third consecutive final at Melbourne Park after defeating 11th-seeded Spaniard Paula Badosa in a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 victory.