Madison Keys beats Iga Świątek in classic semifinal after Aryna Sabalenka reaches third straight final

Madison Keys will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final after a stunning upset win over second seed Iga Świątek.

After two-time defending champion Sabalenka stormed into her third straight final at Melbourne Park with a 6-4, 6-2 drubbing of Paula Badosa, Keys and Świątek played out a semifinal that will go down as one of the most exciting in tournament history.

American 19th seed Keys rebounded from dropping the first set, tore through the second, fought off a match point in the third and held her nerve in a thrilling tiebreak to beat five-time major winner Świątek 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(10/8).

It denied Świątek, who appeared to be in tears as she left the court, her first trip to the Australian Open final and sent Keys into her first grand slam decider since the 2017 US Open.

Swiatek was broken more times in the first set of her semifinal than she was in the rest of the tournament combined. (AP: Vincent Thian)

"In the third set it was so up and down and there were so many big points and break point chances that either one of us got," Keys said on court after the match.

"Then … did she have a match point? … I feel like I blacked out at some point. But just to be able to stay in it and just keep fighting and then had to take it to a tiebreak for an extra dramatic finish."

It was a truly bizarre match as the first four games and eight of the first 13 went against serve before Keys stormed to 5-0 in the second set and became the first player to take a set of Świątek at AO25.

The deciding frame then turned the match into a true Australian Open classic, with both players fighting off the first 10 break points of the set before Świątek broke for 6-5 and a chance to serve for the match.

Madison Keys won the second set in under half an hour. (Getty Images: Darrian Traynor)

The Polish superstar made it to 40-30 and match point but Keys rose to the moment, fought back to deuce and broke straight back to stay alive and force the 10-point tie break.

Świątek had the early advantage and held it for most of the breaker before Keys again found a way back from 5-7, including an ace to tie it at 8-8 before finally getting the win when Świątek sent a forehand long after two hours and 35 minutes on court.

Follow all the reaction in our live blog below and check out our ScoreCentre for the full draw and schedule.

Key Events Keys glad she came out on top of 'dramatic' match 57 minutes ago Madison Keys advances to maiden Australian Open final 1 hours ago Hold the phone! We are going to a tiebreaker 1 hours ago Show all key events Australian Open women's semifinals results L By Lewis Wiseman What a day! That's all for now L By Lewis Wiseman Thanks once again for joining our coverage of day 12 of the Australian Open. We now know our two women's singles finalists — Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys. Tomorrow we find out who of Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton and Jannik Sinner make the men's final. Join us to find out! See you then. Keys says hug first, worry about Sabalenka later L By Lewis Wiseman That dramatic semifinal triumph has set up a date against world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the final for Madison Keys. When asked what she expects from Sabalenka in the final, Keys said short rallies and big hits. "Definitely some big hitting. I think it is going to have not a lot of long points but she is obviously going for her third Aussie Open and I'm excited to get to play here," she said. "I'm really excited for the challenge and I don't know, Saturday is very far away in my brain right now." (Reuters) In terms of immediate plans, Keys is after a hug. "I'm going to probably go and hug my team," she said. "I think I'm going to just try to enjoy this a little bit and then get ready for Saturday, tomorrow." Everyone enjoy the 10-point tiebreak? L By Lewis Wiseman Hi Lewis! What do you think of the 10 point tie break rule? No more incredibly long matches to get two games ahead anymore until 4am anymore. Or maybe we aren’t making our tennis players work hard enough hmm - Tennis enjoyer I think after that match, we are all for the 10-point tiebreak now, right? Madison Keys summed it up here: Keys glad she came out on top of 'dramatic' match L By Lewis Wiseman That strange semifinal just had to finish in a tiebreaker it seems. It was only fair. Speaking after the match, Madison Keys said she's glad she was the one who came out on top. "I feel like I blacked out at some point," she said. "To be able to stay in it and just keep fighting and then for the 10-point tiebreaker it was an actual dramatic finish. "At the end I feel like we were battling some nerves, pushing each other and it just became who can get that final point and who can kind of just be a little bit better than the other one and I'm happy it was me." (Reuters) Madison Keys advances to maiden Australian Open final L By Lewis Wiseman Madison Keys. What a performance! The 19th-seed American has just upset world number two Iga Swiatek in three sets. It was a very, very strange match, but Keys has come out on top, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10/8). Keys wins tense tiebreaker L By Lewis Wiseman In the tiebreaker, Iga Swiatek won the first point against Madison Keys serve. 0-1 Swiatek then double faulted (again). 1-1 She managed to recover and win the next two points, one on serve and one against it. 1-3 Keys responded with a killer serve that left Swiatek with very little she could do. 2-3 Then the world number two showed exactly why she is with a ridiculous backhand winner that left Keys stationary. 2-4 But Keys has a winner in her too and after running the Pole around the court in the next point, she slammed home a forehand winner. 3-4 A simple unforced error from Keys gave back the two-point advantage. 3-5 But Keys rallied and took put a little extra power on her backhand to win the point. 4-5 Madison Keys stayed cool and calm throughout the tiebreaker (Getty) Continuing in the up and down style, Keys misjudged a forehand straight into the net next up. 4-6 She found the spot in the next point with an incredible forehand. 5-6 Swiatek put the pressure straight back on after a slightly longer rally and at the change of ends she was up by two. 5-7 Keys snapped the point for point streak and clawed it back to 7-7. But some stupidly quick reactions at the net saw Swiatek retake the lead. 7-8 Ace up next for Keys. 8-8 Swiatek hit the ball long next, handing Keys a match point. Just one though. 9-8 Swiatek hits long again. Keys wins it 10-8 Hold the phone! We are going to a tiebreaker L By Lewis Wiseman Madison Keys just saved a match point and we are now going to a tiebreak! This is insane! Iga Swiatek looked in control but then buckled under the weight of Keys forehand and her own added pressure. She double faulted to hand Keys the break. Iga Swiatek breaks and is serving for the match! L By Lewis Wiseman What a game! Iga Swiatek has broken Madison Keys serve and is now handed an opportunity to serve for the match. (Getty) The Pole had three break points in that game, and Keys did her best to save them all bringing the score back to 30-40. However after a 10-shot rally, the American tried a slice that was really not needed and Swiatek smashed a winner down the line for an easy point. Keys saves FOUR break points to hold L By Lewis Wiseman Madison Keys has just saved FOUR break points to hold serve and put the pressure back on her opponent. Iga Swiatek had a chance to edge herself in front but was unable to convert. The Pole cruised to 0-40 after a two unforced errors from Keys,but the American hit back and got it back to deuce. Three break points saved. (Getty) The point that followed was both the longest and the best rally of the match. It last 18-shots and both semifinalists were running back and forth but Swiatek won it under pressure. Keys smashed a serve down the middle to save the advantage and then wrapped up the game with back to back winners to hold serve. Iga Swiatek saves two break points to hold L By Lewis Wiseman Iga Swiatek has just saved TWO break points to keep herself alive here. (Reuters) If she lost that game, Madison Keys was serving for the match. But the world number two was let off by a couple of unforced errors from Keys. It's 4-4 now. Forehand winner helps Keys hold L By Lewis Wiseman Madison Keys has just got herself out of a slight hole in that game with a well-struck forehand slam. Iga Swiatek got the game level at 30-30 but the next two points featured two Keys winners. One with her forehand and the other with her backhand. Pressure back on Swiatek. Both players hold, it's locked at 3-3 L By Lewis Wiseman Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys have both held their latest service games and it is 3-3 now. The last two games were as you'd expect from a normal tennis match. But as you have seen, this hasn't been a normal match. After the wild second set, it appears Swiatek and Keys have calmed down. It looks tense out there. Impressive winner sees Swiatek holds serve L By Lewis Wiseman (Getty) Iga Swiatek held her serve to keep things level at 2-2 in the third set. To round out the game, the Pole forced the American wide across the court and then hit a delicate backhand shot the opposite side to win. She's trying to keep the rallies going for longer, when they do, she more often than not wins the point. On the other side of the net Madison Keys is trying to keep things moving quick. Keys holds, we're on serve in the third L By Lewis Wiseman Where have all the break points gone? Madison Keys holds her serve to keep things straightforward this set. She forced Iga Swiatek to make three errors in that game and the Pole handed the game to her with an unforced error. Swiatek responds with a service hold of her own L By Lewis Wiseman Iga Swiatek has held her serve to keep things normal this set, so far. It's 1-1 at the moment. The game started with a 13-shot rally that Swiatek won and ended with another 13-shot rally that she slammed down the winner. She looks fired up. Keys holds serve to get third set underway L By Lewis Wiseman For the first time in the match, the opening service game has seen a hold of serve. (Reuters) Madison Keys started us off with an ace and then proceeded to plough through a quick game of power serves. That one took one minute and 38 seconds. Time called and Iga Swiatek still not on court L By Lewis Wiseman The umpire called for the players to return to the court and Madison Keys did. Iga Swiatek was yet to return from back stage, then came out, then warmed up. The umpire gave her another warning. If that was a technical time out from the Pole, she wouldn't be the first to do it this tournament. Iga Swiatek refuels after poor set L By Lewis Wiseman The world number two Iga Swiatek was left in Madison Key's dust in the second set. She is refueling currently ahead of the third. (Reuters) Madison Keys breaks Iga Swiatek's serve again to win the second set L By Lewis Wiseman Madison Keys has won the second set! 6-1! She broke the world number two's serve FOUR times in that set. Wild. (Reuters) A Swiatek double fault moved Keys to 40-0 and gave her three set points. Swiatek dug deep to save two set points, but keys fittingly won the set on the back of a powerful return of serve to force an error. This one is going the distance, and all momentum is with the American. Show more posts

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