Madison Keys Beats Sabalenka to Win Australian Open Title!
Australian Open
January 25, 2025
Madison Keys kissed her husband and melted into floods of tears. The fairy-tale Australian Open victory charge was complete.
She said: ‘To win my very first Grand Slam in Australia means the absolute world to me. Thank you to my team. This is where I’m going to cry. I have wanted this for so long. My husband is dazed and confused over there.
‘I had so many injuries last year, I didn’t think I would ever be able to do this. Thank you to everyone who helped me achieve my dream.’
Madison’s husband – Bjorn Fratangelo – is also her coach. They had done it together. This was pure romantic theatre.
Aryna Sabalenka had smashed her racquet and cried bitter tears, even though she had never been close to winning. There was to be no hat-trick of successive Aussie Open wins for the volatile Russian.
She recovered to be more sporting. Aryna told Madison: ‘You crashed this tonight. Enjoy the celebration and the really fun part!’
The American had triumphed 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 with a demonstration of quite extraordinary emotional and physical resilience. Seven matches for glory and five three-set classics.
We had to remind ourselves that Keys will be thirty next month and she was only the nineteenth seed. There were so many psychological hurdles to clear in order to achieve the major dream Madison narrowly failed to realise at Flushing Meadows eight years ago,
Keys had an easy forehand to put herself within two points of the match at 5-4 in the third. Agonisingly, she fired wide. And yet somehow she held her nerve for one last assault.
Once more this was a fabulous advertisement for women’s tennis. They showed the sort of power and drama we have come to expect from the men – but increasingly we see from both sets of players.
Madison Keys and Aryna Sabalenka will provide a superb spectacle on Centre Court at Wimbledon 2025.
No woman had beaten the number one and number two at the Australian Open since 2013. But that soon began to look comfortably within Madison’s newfound capabilities.
Keys just brought the same A-game to the first set that had crushed Iga Swiatek. It seemed she could do no wrong. At 5-1 she was flying and could have converted a set point to end the opener early.
Sabalenka did begin to ask a few questions when she clawed back one of the breaks. But Madison’s mental strength maintained her grip and she simply broke once more to draw first blood.
There was no Sabalenka meltdown at that stage. Aryna took a long toilet break and came back with fresh vigour. Keys still took the first game but began to tighten noticeably thereafter.
Unforced errors crept in with alarming regularity where before the American had been relentless and immaculate. Madison’s first serve deserted her.
Sabalenka stormed into it with five successive games and rediscovered her own power. She also played smart with carefully crafted drop-shots. She gave the ball extra air to give Keys more to think about.
When Madison stopped the rot, it was only temporary. Pretty soon Sabalenka had brought the match level in emphatic style.
Madison Keys still had so much to do to claim victory. But she got there. This is precisely the kind of knife-edge drama we’ll see at Wimbledon 2025 too.
The Americans have so much strength in depth now. More glory at Wimbledon 2025 is surely a strong possibility.
The women’s final on Centre Court at Wimbledon 2025 will be enthralling.
Will you be there to see if the American dream comes true at Wimbledon 2025 too?
We can secure your tickets for the experience of a lifetime.
Contact our friendly staff
+44 (0) 1962 733 649
or Visit the Website