The two Australian Open 2025 finalists ended up crying. Madison Keys, with joy, for her first Grand Slam title, with a score of 6-3, 2-6 and 7-5. Aryna Sabalenka, after smashing the racket, covered her face with the towel and cried with sadness for losing a match in the Australian tournament after 20 victories. At 29 years of age, only Na Li was older at the time of lifting her first trophy at Melbourne Park, in the 2014 edition. Sabalenka was left wanting a triple crown that had not been seen consecutively since Martina Hingis (1997 to 1999)
Keys struck first and took a 2-0 lead. She even had a 15-30 lead in the third game to break again. The American hit harder and better despite wearing a heavy bandage on her left thigh. Madison is no longer the shotgun that one day shoots them in and the next day out. That point of consistency surprised Swiatek in the semifinals and was on its way to doing the same with an inaccurate Sabalenka.
The American’s second break came in the fifth game: 4-1. Only 18 minutes had been played. Keys was even getting the bites that kissed the net. The world No. 1 looked more like the one from the early rounds of the tournament than the one from the semifinals with Paula Badosa.
I tell my team I don’t want to see them for a week
Some fans were still looking for their seats in the Rod Laver Arena and the score was 5-1. Madison had a 30-40 for 6-1. The final was on its way to being the fastest in history. There was no competition or exchanges.
The tennis player from Minsk extended the outcome of the opening set with her first break. With 5-3 down, she again surrendered her serve for the third time with a backhand missile from her opponent.
Sabalenka went to the locker room to try to break the rhythm of the final, which was not exactly on her side. She was struggling to generate winners and points. Her loud screams were not synonymous with being ahead in the score.
Her husband, in the dock
On Keys’ bench was her compatriot Bjorn Fratangelo, a former player whom she married a year ago and who has coached her for the last 18 months. It was impossible for Sabalenka not to play better and she did, from the third game of the continuation.
The Belarusian moved ahead, with a 2-1 lead, a situation she had not experienced before. It gave her so much peace of mind that she won five games in a row. The final went to the third set.
The American did not lose face at any time during the match. She had lost four of the previous five, but she didn’t care. The two protagonists held their serve until 4-4. Any mistake could be costly.
Keys enjoyed two match points at 5-4 and 40-15. The second time was the charm for her with an uncontested forehand. The winner is the fifth tennis player from her country, since 2000, to have her name inscribed on the list of winners of the Antipodean major after Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Serena Williams and Sofia Kenin
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