Madison Keys. (AP Photo)
Some 25-minutes later the 26-year-old Belarusian closed out a 6-4, 6-2 win which put the two-time defending champion at Melbourne Park within one match of completing a rare three-peat here. On Saturday, Sabalenka bidding to become the first woman to win three Australian Open titles in a row since Martina Hingis (1997 to 1999) will play another heavy striker of the ball Madison Keys, who is back in a major final nearly eight years after making her first final at her home Slam in new York. Sabalenka, who by her own admission, ‘played an incredible match’, clocked 32 winners. The 29-year-old Keys took the cracker of a second semi-final against World No.2 Iga Swiatek, fighting off a match point to clinch the roller-coaster affair 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (8) in 2-hours and 35 minutes. “The match was such a high level, Even though I lost the first set I had momentum going into the second, the third set was up-and-down and we had a 10-point match tie-break to make it extra dramatic.
Keys said. That was the first and only time in the match that the duo, who call themselves ‘soulmates’, shared shades of their friendship on the court. After Badosa got back on her feet, it was business as usual. When the two players entered the mighty Arena for the first of the women’s semi-finals on a cold, windy evening, the roof half-closed, there was barely any eye-contact between. “I’m in the final woo hoo! We were pushing each other — who can get the final point and who can be better, I’m happy it’s me.”
The Spaniard was engaged in shadow drills, the Belarusian jumped lightly, shifting from side-to-side before the coin toss and when they posed for the customary pre-match photo, there wasn’t even a hint of recognition.