American tennis star, Madison Keys, has sent five-time Grand Slam winner, Iga Swiatek, packing from the Australian Open on Thursday to set up a final against two-time defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka.
Only three players in Australian Open history had dropped fewer games than Swiatek ahead of the semi-final match, which saw her struggle to claim the first set before enduring a torrid second set which took only 27 minutes for Keys to win.
However, Keys was on the verge of defeat as Swiatek served for the match at 6-5 in the third set only for the American to save the match point before breaking the Pole’s serve, then going on to win the tie-break and seal a memorable win.
The 5-7 6-1 7-6 win after two hours and 35 minutes of play at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Thursday means Keys will play in just her second major career final, and will now face Sabalenka in Saturday’s final Down Under.
Sabalenka will also remain world number one regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s final against Keys, as Swiatek needed to reach the final to have a chance at reclaiming top spot on the WTA tour from the Belarusian.