American Madison Keys is through to her first ever Australian Open final after she squeezed past No.2 seed Iga Swiatek in a late-night thriller at Melbourne Park on Thursday, saving a match point in the process.
Swiatek had match point when serving for victory at 6-5 in the third, but Keys dug deep to clinch a dramatic 5-7 6-1 7-6 [10-8] victory after two hours, 35 minutes.
“I’m still trying to catch up to everything that’s happening,” said a stunned Keys, who reached the US Open final in 2017. “Yeah, I’m in the finals.”
Even after Keys broke back for 6-6, Swiatek looked like she was going to win it as she led 7-5, and then 8-7 after a brilliant, instinctive volley.
But in her third Australian Open semifinal, 10 years after her first, the 29-year-old Keys hit an ace to level, another fine serve and then clinched victory when Swiatek put a forehand over the baseline.
Facing Keys across the net in Saturday’s final will be Aryna Sabalenka, a woman well used to this stage here at Melbourne Park.
The world No.1, winner here in each of the last two years, saw off her close friend Paula Badosa 6-4 6-2. Victory over Keys would give her a third straight title, joining Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis.
“I’m so proud of myself, of my team that we’re able to put ourselves in such a situation,” Sabalenka said. “It’s a privilege. If I can put my name in history it means a lot. It’s been a dream. Now I have this opportunity I’m going to give everything.”
The men’s doubles final will be between Britain’s Henry Patten and Finland’s Harri Heliovaara and the all-Italian combination of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
Wimbledon champions Patten and Heliovarra beat German pair Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-4 3-6 7-6 [10-7] while Bolelli and Vavassori, the runners-up last year, beat Andre Goransson of Sweden and Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands 2-6 6-3 6-4.
In the wheelchair singles event, former women’s world No.1 Aniek van Koot produced a brilliant comeback as she recovered from a set and 5-2 down to beat Wang Ziying of China 1-6 7-6(4) 6-1.
Second seed Van Koot will meet No. 1 seed Yui Kamiji of Japan, who beat another Chinese, Li Xiaohui, 6-4 6-1.
The men’s final will also be between the top two seeds. No.1 Tokido Oda, the defending champion, beat Spain’s Martin De la Puente 6-1 6-1 while No. 2 Alfie Hewett, a nine-time Grand Slam singles champion, saw off Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina 6-3 6-3.
