Madison Keys surprisingly wins the Australian Open. The American defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka, the winner of the last two years, 6:3, 2:6, 7:5 in the final.
25.01.2025, 12:02
25.01.2025, 12:07
SDA
The soon-to-be 30-year-old Keys, currently ranked No. 14 in the world, achieved what she had been denied a good seven years ago by beating Sabalenka. At the US Open, she missed out on the crown with a 3:6, 0:6 defeat to compatriot Sloane Stephens. And in the past two weeks she has achieved what Svetlana Kuznetsova last did at the French Open in 2009. Like the Russian more than 15 years ago, Keys was able to defeat the world numbers 1 and 2 on the way to her coup. In the semi-final, she had knocked out Poland's Iga Swiatek.
Keys played an excellent first phase of the final. She clearly dominated the action against a rival who made far too many mistakes. After just under half an hour, she had won the first set. Keys was not quite able to maintain her level after that and had to concede the set to Sabalenka.
Nevertheless, Keys kept her nerve, withstood the pressure several times - and found her stride again in the third. She clinched the set with a service break in the final game.
Thanks to her triumph in the Rod Laver Arena, Keys will return to the top ten of the world rankings. From Monday, she will be number 7 and thus equal her previous best ranking. The last time she was among the best was in August 2019, when she was number 9.
